


Hetalia OC Things

by LukaTheSelkie



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:07:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23698231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LukaTheSelkie/pseuds/LukaTheSelkie
Summary: I've been a bit self-indulgent lately and I've written a few things for myself. I have a few Hetalia OC's, and I wanted to write some stuff using them. There's forms, stories about their lives, and little one shots based on if they get together with someone other than who their main pairing is. Many personal headcanons included; so many I won't be putting any info on them, but they're easy to figure out. I thought maybe someone would enjoy reading them, so I've decided to post them.
Kudos: 1





	1. Albert Form

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

╓═══════☆═══════╖  
Personal Information  
╙═══════☆═══════╜

『Name』  
Albert Olsson (The last name is taken from the captor who caused the term to come into existence)

『Nickname/s』  
Al, Bert, Berty

『Gender』  
Male

『Age』  
Actual- 46  
Physical- 21

『Sexuality』  
Homosexual (Sorry ladies! I do have my reasoning though. The first identification of Stockholm Syndrome was from a man and his hostages, so it makes sense to me he be attracted to men.)

『Birthday』  
28-08-1973

『Height』  
178 cm/5’ 10.08”

『Weight』  
68 Kg/150 Ibs

『Pets』  
A pure white cat named Peppermint

『Hobbies』  
Hiking/enjoying nature that’s not been touched by man  
People watching; he loves to observe  
Putting puzzles together to help him relax

『Skills』  
Botany  
The ability to tell what species an animal is by glancing at it  
Predicting what people are going to do next

╳°»｡ ∾･⁙･ ღ ➵ ⁘ ➵ ღ ･⁙･∾ ｡«°╳

╓═══════☆═══════╖  
Favourites  
╙═══════☆═══════╜

『Favourite Person』  
His brother, Alrik

『Favourite Place』  
Brakkåfallet, especially when he becomes overwhelmed and needs to calm down.   
『Favourite Food』  
(Swedish) Meatballs

『Favourite Drink』  
Brännvin (burn-wine); more specifically, Vodka

『Favourite Time of Day』  
Night time. He doesn’t have to deal with as many people then.

『Favourite Music Genre』  
Dansorkester, translated as “dance orchestra”, which turned into Dansband or “dance band” three years after he came to exist. This type of music is inspired by swing, schlager, country, jazz, and rock. (This took thirty minutes to find and I’m not even sure it’s the most popular genre at the time. I think it is though.)

『Favourite Movie』  
Emil and the Piglet (It took me nearly an hour to find this. It’s probably not even the most popular movie of the year in Sweden, but it’s the highest rated 1973 Swedish movie I found on a site that lists Featured Films. At least it’s family friendly and Albert would love it.)

『Favourite Book』  
The Brothers Lionheart (It was published around the time he came to exist and it’s dark so it fits Albert. Yeah, I gave up on the popular thing.)

『Favourite Animal』  
Lion (Because Sweden is the Lion of Northern Europe. He also likes them because they can be gentle and caring, or scary and intimidating when needed. He likes to see himself as a lion sometimes as well.)

『Favourite Flower』  
Miniature Rose

╳°»｡ ∾･⁙･ ღ ➵ ⁘ ➵ ღ ･⁙･∾ ｡«°╳

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

[Photos here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Os8rZFqIe_UUaZ3tmUowL-PQEBbNM7_3CDT_W3A6ijI/edit?usp=sharing)  
  
(He’s wearing his favorite scarf in the second one)

(Sorry, couldn't find a way to add photos that aren't online)  
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

╓═══════☆═══════╖  
Appearance  
╙═══════☆═══════╜

『Face』  
Albert has more of a solemn face, though it is rather endearing. His eyes are the color of the most common day skies over Stockholm. He has a cute button nose, soft, plump lips, pale skin, and big, round glasses that rest against his cheeks and eyebrows.

『Body』  
Albert’s body is more on the lean side. He is on the lighter side of the weight he should be for his height, but he is still a healthy weight. He has an X-shaped scar directly above his heart he inflicted on himself; this is there to show he has issues with trusting himself and other people when it comes to love. He has a small black and white rose tattoo on his left inner wrist. He had this done to show his unease over love, since he considers himself unlovable because of what he personifies. The color choice shows he believes love is either there or not, it can’t be forced, and he stands firmly with the black, or lack of love.

『Hair』  
Albert’s hair is a light cream colour (taken from the bank the first official case happened in) in messy, loose curls, and comes nearly to shoulder length.

『Clothing』  
He loves wearing button up shirts. His favorite colors to wear are the colors of the rooftops of Stockholm. He normally wears black slacks and light brown, lace up, knee high boots.

╳°»｡ ∾･⁙･ ღ ➵ ⁘ ➵ ღ ･⁙･∾ ｡«°╳

╓═══════☆═══════╖  
Personality & Psychology  
╙═══════☆═══════╜

『Personality』  
Albert is quiet and incredibly cautious, especially when it comes to love. He loves love, but refuses to let himself be distracted by it; he believes it’s better suited for the older personifications. This can make him seem standoffish, but it’s truly because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He has a big, caring heart. However, when his walls have been broken down, he can be very fun to be around. He is always very gentle, even when dealing with people he doesn’t know very well and wants to avoid, lest they discover what he is. He cares for everything and everyone, but is easily overwhelmed. He is always kind to others, even when he feels uncomfortable around them or is trying to be cautious, and this scares him. He is afraid it’s not him acting, but rather what he stands for. Because of this, Albert is also rather skittish, and easy to spook. It is best to approach him with wariness.

『Distinctive Traits』  
He is terrified of falling in love with someone, or someone falling in love with him.  
Despite being skittish and cautious, he is rather attention-starved.  
When he gets angry enough, he practically explodes from holding it in too long.

『Mental Health』  
Albert is mostly mentally stable, but he does have his issues. However, he is not a danger to himself or others. He has a low self esteem, situational anxiety, and situational depression.

『Flaws』  
He has trust issues  
He is too quiet, to the point some think he is mute  
His opinions of himself

『Positives』  
He can read situations well  
He tries his best to make others think positively of themselves  
He is rather knowledgeable

『Likes』  
Seclusion, especially seclusion in nature  
Observing  
Pastries and coffee (Fika, but without the company. Unless it’s his brother)

『Dislikes』  
Hot things, be it food, drink, temperature, etc  
Ignorant and/or entitled people  
Ice cream; it hurts his teeth

『Fears』  
He is scared no one could ever truly love him  
He is terrified of losing his brother, Alrik  
He is afraid of being locked into a place; room, house, anything with a lock

╳°»｡ ∾･⁙･ ღ ➵ ⁘ ➵ ღ ･⁙･∾ ｡«°╳

╓═══════☆═══════╖  
Family & Relationships  
╙═══════☆═══════╜

『Mother』  
Sweden (Sweden is a Motherland, after all)

『Father』  
Nils Bejerot (The criminologist and psychiatrist that coined the term)

『Siblings』  
His brother, Alrik Johansson

『Significant Other』  
Albert is too afraid of love to have a significant other. However, with patience and persistence, he might fall for someone. (I’ve considered Francis because he wants everyone to feel loved. I’ve also considered Alfred because he would cover his silence, Ivan because they’re both distant, Lovino because they get along so well and relate to each other by being the “less important” brother, and Kiku because he’s an understanding sweetheart.)

『Relations』  
「Aceola Wagner (TheHetaliaOtaku's OC)」  
The two of them are best friends. They most often hang out when they need a break from people. They go on picnicking adventures into the wilderness. Sometimes they disappear for days at a time, and come back completely refreshed. Ace can get him to talk for as long as she wants him to.  
☆  
「America」  
The two of them get along well enough. Albert isn’t sure what Alfred thinks of him, but he likes not being pushed to speak when they’re together. He's perfectly content to listen to him rant about everything and nothing.  
☆  
「Canada」  
The two of them are quiet buddies. They often put puzzles together, and Albert enjoys his company. He would even consider Matthew a close friend.  
☆  
「Denmark」  
“Uncle Den”, as he likes to make Albert call him, is one of the few countries that can make him lose his cool fast. He knows he means well, but he really should stop trying to push him to be more social.  
☆  
「England」  
They get along well. Albert enjoys having tea with Arthur sometimes, and he doesn’t mind his food. He deals with Sweden’s cooking, after all. Arthur’s food tastes so much better.  
☆  
「Finland」  
Finland is one of the few that can get Albert to speak more than a few words at a time. He feels comfortable around him, and he knows he cares. He also knows Tino would do anything for him, if it will help, and he’s forever grateful for that.  
☆  
「France」  
They mostly get along. Francis tries his hardest to get him to accept love, but he’s never overly pushy about it. When he needs to stop, he does. Albert is hesitant of him because of this, but he knows he can trust him to do the right thing. He also admires how sweet and caring he can be.  
☆  
「Germany」  
Albert doesn’t know him very well. He just knows Alrik doesn’t like Ludwig for some reason, and he has to apologize for his brother’s behavior. Their relationship is somewhat strained because of Alrik’s behavior.  
☆  
「Iceland」  
They get along well. Neither of them like to be pushed into doing things, so they often rebel together. When the two of them are together, no one is safe from pranks. Emil is another person Albert fully trusts.  
☆  
「Italy」  
Albert enjoys being around Feliciano. He’s so bubbly, he becomes happy being around him. They’re close friends, though he needs to rest away from people for awhile after they spend a day together.  
☆  
「Japan」  
Albert loves learning new things from him. Kiku is one of the people he trusts the most, and he cherishes their time together, even when he makes overly salty food for them. He would do anything for him.  
☆  
「Ladonia」  
He and Ladonia are close. Their relationship is more playful than anything. Often times they gang up on Berwald for a pretend conquest, and he’s kind enough to let them “win.” Albert considers him a brother, and they would do anything for each other.  
☆  
「Liberty Jones (TheHetaliaOtaku's OC)」  
They know each other very well and are dear to one another, despite Ludwig and Alrik not getting along. She is the only person he trusts when he has conflicting emotions about someone. He knows he can trust her with anything. She is an honorary sibling of his.  
☆  
「Norway」  
The two of them have a pretty restricted relationship. They don’t hang out often, but when they do, it’s usually to complain about Denmark. Albert thinks he’s nice though.  
☆  
「Prussia」  
Their relationship is rather strained. Gilbert is protective of his brother, and Albert often has to separate him and Alrik from a full on fight. Gil isn’t the only one protective of his brother, after all. He tries to apologize, but it’s not the same as the one starting the fights doing it.  
☆  
「Russia」  
Albert mostly admires him from afar. He can be scary, but he wants to be friends, especially since his country is so beautiful and he would love to visit. He’s not sure, but he thinks Ivan likes him better than some.  
☆  
「Sealand」  
They have what some might consider a love-hate relationship. Albert doesn’t mind him when he’s being annoying to others, like Denmark, so he doesn’t have to be bothered into speaking. However, when Peter turns his full attention to him, he becomes very defensive and upset from being overwhelmed.  
☆  
「South Italy」  
These two have a mutual, unspoken agreement not to talk about their brothers when together. They have a lot of the same insecurities, and they would both spiral if they started talking. Besides that, they get along well. Lovino is one of the few that can make Albert laugh.  
☆  
「Sweden」  
Berwald is practically his lifeline. He goes to him first on everything, and he is always very patient with him. He’s the only person Albert isn’t afraid to touch. He goes to him when he needs affection.  
☆  
「Ukraine」  
Albert and her can often be found by one of her water features, when they’re together. They enjoy each other’s company, and he trusts her with most things. 

╳°»｡ ∾･⁙･ ღ ➵ ⁘ ➵ ღ ･⁙･∾ ｡«°╳

╓═══════☆═══════╖  
History  
╙═══════☆═══════╜  
Stockholm Syndrome is an irrational psychological alliance hostages form with their captors during intimate time together. The term was first used in the media after the Norrmalmstorg bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden. The condition is paradoxical. Victims tend to defend their captor(s), and refuse to testify in court against them. Stockholm Syndrome can potentially form in different circumstances, such as being held hostage, sexual abuse, human trafficking, terror, and political and/or religious oppression. There are four main components that characterize Stockholm Syndrome. They are:  
Developing positive feelings toward the criminal  
No previous relationship between the victim and criminal  
The victim refusing to cooperate with authorities  
The victim’s belief in the criminal’s humanity because they refuse to see the criminal as a threat when they hold the same values

When he was small, Albert switched between victim and criminal personalities of Stockholm Syndrome often. Sweden concluded this was because he had only recently been discovered and was therefore unstable, so he tried everything he could think of to even out the changes into something more manageable. After much trial and error, he discovered affection gets rid of the personalities and reveals the true Albert. Since Sweden helped him calm down, and his fears about love came out because of this, he only trusts Berwald when he needs affection. Albert believes because he helped, as well as being his country, he is the only one that he can touch without hesitation.

Finland is his second go-to for affection. He’s a bit more hesitant to touch him, but he doesn’t put up a protest to his hair being stroked and then being pulled into a tight hug, as Fin so often does to him. He helped Sweden realize affection was helpful, so he feels like he owes Finland for making him sane. It doesn’t take long for his hugs to loosen Albert up, and get him talking about anything and everything as they cuddle. He doesn’t fear putting Finland under Stockholm Syndrome because he is so close to Sweden, but it is still a mild concern.

Albert absolutely hates Denmark. The Dane knows he struggles with communication, and instead of trying to help, he shoves affection and social interactions onto him. Sweden has explained to him it’s like throwing a baby into the deep end of a pool, but he never listens. Instead, he forces Albert into hugs, parties, and awkwardly intimate situations with others. At least he met Kiku through one of these instances.

Albert first saw Norway steaming mad, and he is a bit afraid of him because first impressions stick with him hard. It was actually after Denmark practically forced him onto Kiku and telling them to “have fun”, whatever that meant. Norway was suddenly front and center, screaming at Denmark to stop forcing people to do things they don’t want to do, and just listen for once in his life. After noticing he had nearly scared poor Albert to death, he quickly apologized, gave him a cookie, and dragged Denmark away to scold. After being scared half to death, he really only dares to approach Norway when he’s upset with Denmark.

The first time Albert met Iceland, he was putting glue in Denmark’s hair gel. Instead of telling, he smirked and replaced his shampoo with vegetable oil. From that moment forward, they became rebel buddies, mostly against Denmark. Anytime someone tries to force one or both of them into doing something they don’t want or don’t feel comfortable doing, pay back time. Albert enjoys having someone to get all of his mischievous energy out with.

Liberty and Albert met at a New Year’s Eve party. France dragged him there not too long after discovering he existed. He placed him in front of Liberty, and stated, “I found the reason,” then just left. Albert was so confused, but she helped him understand that her situation with Ludwig was somewhat like Stockholm Syndrome. He tried apologizing to her, but she wasn’t taking it. She had truly fallen for Ludwig over the years. He was thankful he hadn’t hurt anyone, and he made a friend later turned sibling that night.

Aceola and Albert met one day when he and Liberty were having a sibling sleepover. He was probably a sight to behold, wearing some form of clothing over everything but his face. He was also blind, as he didn’t have his glasses on, but he knew the house well enough to navigate without them. She took his hand, asked what he needed, and helped him get his items. Flustered, he thanked her quietly, turned away quickly, and promptly smacked into the wall, falling to the ground. After helping him back to Liberty, she stayed to talk and get answers as to why there was a stranger in the house.

╳°»｡ ∾･⁙･ ღ ➵ ⁘ ➵ ღ ･⁙･∾ ｡«°╳

╓═══════☆═══════╖  
Facts & Headcanons  
╙═══════☆═══════╜

『Character Facts』  
He considers himself a monster because of what he stands for.  
He wears gloves so he can’t influence/contaminate anyone he touches with Stockholm Syndrome. (He can’t do it anyway, he just thinks he can.)  
He doesn’t back down or run away from anyone, even when he’s scared.  
He actually has a rather pleasant singing voice, he’s just too shy for many people to have heard it.  
He was once locked in Norrmalmstorg Bank by Alrik as a joke, and he wouldn’t speak or even allow himself to be seen by anyone other than Sweden for a month.  
He wears his favorite scarf when around people. This gives him another level of reassurance that he won’t accidentally “contaminate” someone.

『Character Headcanons』  
He is most afraid to touch France. He believes Francis is the most likely to fall under Stockholm Syndrome because of how he treats him.  
He and Prussia would actually get along if Alrik would stop starting fights.  
He’s too afraid to ask Lovino to hang out more often, though he would absolutely love to.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•


	2. Alrik Form

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

╓═══════☆═══════╖  
Personal Information  
╙═══════☆═══════╜

『Name』  
Alrik Johansson (The most common Swedish last name. I am aware his last name does not match Albert’s, but Alrik is more about majority.)

『Nickname/s』  
Rik, Rikky

『Gender』  
Male

『Age』  
Actual-Around 346  
Physical-19

『Sexuality』  
Pansexual

『Birthday』  
Around 1674

『Height』  
160cm/5’ 3”

『Weight』  
64 Kg/141 Ibs

『Pets』  
A cream rabbit named CinnaBun

『Hobbies』  
Baking and cooking; more specifically, sweets  
Dance, because it helps get his energy out  
He took up yarn work from Sweden

『Skills』  
He has the ability to make perfect Kaffebröd  
He can make anyone’s perfect cup of coffee on the first try  
He practically has a mood detector

╳°»｡ ∾･⁙･ ღ ➵ ⁘ ➵ ღ ･⁙･∾ ｡«°╳

╓═══════☆═══════╖  
Favourites  
╙═══════☆═══════╜

『Favourite Person』  
His brother, Albert

『Favourite Place』  
Any cafe

『Favourite Food』  
Any Kaffebröd

『Favourite Drink』  
Coffee

『Favourite Time of Day』  
Fikarast (10:00) and Fikapaus (15:00)

『Favourite Music Genre』  
Classical music. It is lovely to listen to during Fika.

『Favourite Movie』  
Alrik isn’t really into movies since he grew up in a time without them, but silent films were absolutely amazing when they first came out. If he had to choose, it would be those because of the nostalgia.

『Favourite Book』  
Musæ Suethizantes

『Favourite Animal』  
Moose

『Favourite Flower』  
Linnea Borealis, or Twinflower

╳°»｡ ∾･⁙･ ღ ➵ ⁘ ➵ ღ ･⁙･∾ ｡«°╳

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

[Photos here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o74y5GW44lheeyjfLQiP9k-7wKxtMOl3L02FQ1hmWdc/edit?usp=sharing)  
  
(He’s wearing his favorite sunglasses in the second one)

(Still can't figure it out lol)  
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

╓═══════☆═══════╖  
Appearance  
╙═══════☆═══════╜

『Face』  
Alrik’s eyes are deep brown, like fresh coffee or the gooey goodness in a cinnamon bun. His nose is a bit short for his face, but it adds on to his cuteness. His mouth is nearly always turned up in a mischievous smirk, though his bottom lip is often slightly swollen. He’s made a habit of biting it to keep himself from blurting out when someone is talking. His skin is fair, though it’s a bit darker than his brother’s because he is outside more often.

『Body』  
Alrik is chubby. He’s still within what is healthy for someone his size, but he’s on the heavier side. When he’s been out in the sun a lot, the light freckles on his shoulders get darker if they’ve been exposed. He has five scars of varying sizes spread over his body. Each one is from a separate time coffee or coffee related items were banned from Sweden. The first and longest he received crosses from the left side of his upper chest to just under his right ribs. This one is the result of the coffee paraphernalia ban. The rest are from full coffee bans. The second is straight down his left side, from mid rib to the top of his hip. The third and shortest cuts across his right upper forearm. The fourth runs along his inner left thigh, roughly the length of his hand. The fifth scar travels diagonally across his lower back, from the bottom of his right ribs to his left hip.

『Hair』  
Alrik’s hair is pretty straight, in a toasted colour (taken from cinnamon buns, a Fika favorite), messily cut at his chin. He really should stop cutting it himself.

『Clothing』  
He loves comfort, but he also loves being cute. This usually results in a pale hoodie being tossed on over a stylish shirt. Most of his shirts are girly, because he can’t find anything cute meant for men. His pants are usually covered in a design, like stars, or are solely for comfort, like sweatpants. The shoes he wears most often are deep red ankle boots with a small heel, though sometimes he does choose to wear black comfort shoes.

╳°»｡ ∾･⁙･ ღ ➵ ⁘ ➵ ღ ･⁙･∾ ｡«°╳

╓═══════☆═══════╖  
Personality & Psychology  
╙═══════☆═══════╜

『Personality』  
Alrik is full of energy. He’s an overall bubbly person, but not to the point it’s annoying. He understands when the moment is serious and when he can joke. He is also an incredibly kind person. He puts the well-being of others first, not caring about the preservation of himself. He is the type to help an insect get to safety when it is in danger of being crushed. However, despite his compassion, he absolutely loves pulling pranks. This comes from the amount of energy he has; prank pulling helps to get rid of some of it. He is cautious of the pranks he pulls though. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He loves people, after all. His love for people carries over to a love of everything. He is very cautious of his words and activities, especially potentially offensive things, which makes him easily emotional sometimes. When he is overly emotional, he can do irrational things. He doesn’t do them on purpose. He gets overwhelmed and things just happen.

『Distinctive Traits』  
He is rather observant when it comes to other’s emotions.  
He will put his own health at risk to make someone else happy, even if they are a complete stranger.  
He is practically an open book. He doesn’t try to hide his emotions. He’s seen the pain that can cause.

『Mental Health』  
Alrik is mentally stable, but he does have his moments. He has rather low self esteem. He has hearing, taste, and touch sensory overload, which makes his emotions spike irrationally when they happen. He also has ADHD, but he has good control over the rude and impatient parts of it from years of practice.

『Flaws』  
He is dangerously selfless  
Sometimes he forgets to take care of himself  
He is rather oblivious to most things  
His low self esteem

『Positives』  
His bubbliness  
His big heart/kind nature  
His concern for others

『Likes』  
Sweets  
Attention  
Cute things

『Dislikes』  
Being ignored  
Being called a girl  
Being hit on

『Fears』  
He is terrified his country will ban coffee again, giving him another pain period and scar.  
He is scared no one really likes him, and they just put up with him through a request.  
He is desperately afraid of losing his brother, Albert.

╳°»｡ ∾･⁙･ ღ ➵ ⁘ ➵ ღ ･⁙･∾ ｡«°╳

╓═══════☆═══════╖  
Family & Relationships  
╙═══════☆═══════╜

『Mother』  
Sweden (Sweden is a motherland, after all)

『Father』  
Unknown

『Siblings』  
His brother, Albert Olsson

『Significant Other』  
Alrik is practically obsessed with Feliciano. Though he is too self conscious to ask him out, he does try to spend as much time as possible around him. That time is often spent in a group, as he basically blubbers when in direct contact with Feli. He’s not very good at speaking coherently with people he really likes. (I am willing to have him be with Lovino if someone wants to roleplay with him but feels uncomfortable doing Feli. Though his main partner is Feliciano. We can talk route if that is the case.)

『Relations』

「Aceola Wagner (TheHetaliaOtaku's OC)」  
These two are best friends. They started out as a type of doctor patient relationship, but it’s grown from the time they spend together. Alrik would do anything for Ace, and he hopes she knows that. She also couldn’t overwhelm him even if she tried, that’s how much he trusts her.  
☆  
「America」  
They get along well. Alrik likes being able to talk about random things at whatever speed he feels like, especially since Alfred doesn’t ever get lost in the conversation like some others do.  
☆  
「Canada」  
Alrik makes a point to spend time with Matthew. Albert likes him, but he’s too afraid to make sure he gets noticed, so Alrik has put that task upon himself. He does really like him though.  
☆  
「Denmark」  
They are two peas in a pod. Alrik absolutely loves his “Uncle Den”, and they do as much as possible together. They prank all the time, and love pranking the other Nordics the most.  
☆  
「Finland」  
He and Tino are very close. Alrik feels like he can talk to him about anything. He is very supportive of him, but also warns him where it is due. Alrik wouldn’t trade anything for him. Tino is also one of the few that doesn’t overwhelm him.  
☆  
「France」  
The two of them do well around each other. They don’t know one another well, but Francis is concerned for Albert, so he’s got a good mark in Alrik’s book.  
☆  
「Germany」  
They do not get along. This is mostly on Alrik’s part, as he knows he and Feliciano used to have something for each other, before he forgot. He growls at Ludwig every time he sees him to show his displeasure with him. He makes sure no one else hears it.  
☆  
「Iceland」  
Alrik loves spending time with Emil. They pull prank after prank together. Their favorite time to pull a prank is at a World Meeting. They can be serious with each other as well though, and that means a lot to both of them.  
☆  
「Italy」  
Alrik is deeply in love with Feliciano. He gets so embarrassed around him, he can barely form a coherent sentence. He feels like he’s not good enough for such a saint. But Feli is always kind to him, so he believes his thoughts are irrational. He’s happy they get along.  
☆  
「Japan」  
Kiku is very observant, which is something Alrik lacks most of the time. Together, they make a perfect duo. They are the best of friends. He adores their friendship, and he would do anything to keep it, if a situation were to arise. He loves Kiku too much to lose him.  
☆  
「Ladonia」  
They paint together, and talk a lot. They use each other to vent, mostly. But Alrik wouldn’t give up their time together for anything. He likes helping him feel included and important.  
☆  
「Liberty Jones (TheHetaliaOtaku's OC)」  
At first, their relationship was rocky during the best of times. Over time, they’ve gotten to know each other and are pretty close. Sometimes he craves attention from her, and she is more than happy to give it. Often, this is in the form of reassuring him he is indeed cute.  
☆  
「Musa Braginski (TheHetaliaOtaku's OC)」  
The two of them are incredibly close. From the beginning, they’ve been prank buddies. Alrik would do anything for her, especially when it comes to her powers. He is fully comfortable around her, even to the point he never gets self conscious when they are together.  
☆  
「Netherlands」  
Their relationship is a love-hate one. When they first met, he was jokingly making fun of Alrik. He’s apologized, and Alrik gave him another chance, but he is one of the few that quickly overload his senses, making him freak out.  
☆  
「Norway」  
They are very close. Alrik spends at least an hour a day with him. It’s even a set time where neither makes any plans aside from that. Mostly, they just enjoy each other’s company. Sometimes they talk, or he gets shown some magic. Alrik trusts him with everything. He never sets off his sensory overload.  
☆  
「Prussia」  
They don’t get along. At all. Growling at Ludwig without anyone else hearing sets him off, which, in turn, sets Gilbert off. Alrik winds up getting overwhelmed sensory wise, and it results in a fist fight from the anger of them both. Albert has to break them apart, most of the time. Then Alrik feels awful for his apologizing.  
☆  
「Romania」  
Alrik is fond of his magic, just like with Norway. That’s really the only time they’re together, but they like each other well enough. At least they can stand to be in the same room.  
☆  
「Sealand」  
Alrik loves doing anything and everything he can with Peter. He knows the Micronation appreciates it, and he loves spending time with him anyway. He tries to make him feel included as well, just like with Ladonia.  
☆  
「South Italy」  
They are somewhat close. Alrik finds Lovino easy to talk to. He somehow manages to make him forget all his worries. Lovino is one of the few people he has never been overwhelmed by, despite his feisty tongue. Alrik mostly finds that entertaining.  
☆  
「Sweden」  
They would die for each other. Berwald has helped him through so much, and he is forever grateful for that. Alrik has helped him, too, though he refuses to admit it to himself. Berwald is another person that has never overwhelmed his senses.

╳°»｡ ∾･⁙･ ღ ➵ ⁘ ➵ ღ ･⁙･∾ ｡«°╳

╓═══════☆═══════╖  
History  
╙═══════☆═══════╜  
Fika is a Swedish tradition. It can be used as a noun or a verb. It is a short break, usually shared with friends, and often paired with a sweet pastry and some coffee. The most important part of Fika is taking time to slow down. It is so important in Swedish culture, there are two set times in business days for a Fika break. These are usually at 10:00 (Fikarast) and 15:00 (Fikapaus). Taking a break from work isn’t the only time Fika is observed, however. Anyone can have a break at any time. It is a very casual tradition. Fika is more than a break; it’s a lifestyle. So embrace the slow life, appreciate the good things, and take a Fika!

Alrik came as a surprise to Sweden. The rise of coffee so soon after it arrived was a shock. At first, there was confusion as to why he existed, but it was passed off as a popularity thing. Then the bans started. They only knew of each other until then, but when Alrik came to his country doubled over in pain, all formalities were pushed aside to take care of him and figure out what was happening. Alrik would have gone insane without Berwald’s help, and together they figured out what he stood for. He is forever thankful for that. The two have been close ever since.

Alrik’s first meeting with Denmark was a slippery one. At the time, Den had collected information on him and was set on capturing him, in an attempt to get Sweden to join the Kalmar Union again. Instead, they got to watch a spectacular prank Alrik had pulled on Prussia unfold. Denmark immediately changed his plans, and befriended the mischievous personification. They have been pranking buddies since. Part of their time together Sweden will never know about, since things were still tense between the two.

Alrik and Norway became friends when he was under Sweden’s rule. He first took an interest in him when he saw him practicing magic, and they started talking. They became fast friends, but it had to end eventually. Norway left Sweden, but before he did, they made plans to meet up every day. To this day, they follow these plans. They love each other dearly, but as family. He has trusted Nor with so many things. Alrik is one of the only ones he will show emotion to.

Finland caught the tail end of the last full coffee ban, and the forming of his fifth scar. He showed immediate concern, and helicoptered around him, trying his best to do everything he could to help with the pain. Once the ban was lifted and he started feeling like himself again, they got to talking. Now, he goes to Tino for advice when he’s seriously stuck. He trusts his advice to be without bias. He also just loves being around him.

Iceland and Alrik met through Norway. The two immediately hit it off as prank buddies, and it’s been a whirlwind since, mostly pranking the other Nordics. They feel safe with each other, and will casually ask the other for advice. Along with this, they can have serious talks sometimes. Emil is the one that helped him realize his sexuality, and his crush on Italy. He always feels safe around Iceland, and he is grateful for that.

The first time Aceola and Alrik met, he was seeking help. He had heard she could fix anything; by that point he was tired of dealing with his Sensory Overload, so he took a chance. He didn’t think it would work, as it was more a shot in the dark last hope than anything else, but Ace tried her hardest to help. He is forever grateful for that, even if it didn’t work. She always kept trying, no matter how many times they were both told it would never happen. Over time the two grew close, and now they’re the best of friends. She is one of the few that never overwhelm him.

When Alrik met Liberty, he was afraid of her. He knew she and Ludwig were together, and he was terrified she would either try to drill answers out of him as to why he hated Ludwig so much, or go straight to hurting him. Needless to say, she turned out to be very different than he had expected. Aceola actually brought him to her when he stopped improving under her care alone. At first he was overwhelmed and he did some things he regrets, but Liberty understands he wasn’t in the right state of mind. Since then, the two have gotten closer.

Alrik met Musa as a result of boredom. He had followed Albert along on one of his walks with Ukraine after a particularly harsh social anxiety attack. Once Alrik saw he was going to be okay, he wandered off. He practically bumped into Musa, as he wasn’t paying attention. They quickly bonded over being short, and before long, they were planning a prank. It never crossed his mind to worry about his appearance or personality, and it never will. He loves her as a sister.

╳°»｡ ∾･⁙･ ღ ➵ ⁘ ➵ ღ ･⁙･∾ ｡«°╳

╓═══════☆═══════╖  
Facts & Headcanons  
╙═══════☆═══════╜

『Character Facts』  
He is on the chubby side and he loves it.  
He wears anything he finds cute, which most often turns out to be frilly clothes.  
The process of getting a new scar makes him incredibly sick, to the point he can barely move, but he’s completely fine once the ban on coffee is lifted. Often he spends his time in pain cuddled up to Sweden.  
Norway gave him the ring on his necklace when he was small(er), and told him to give it to the one he loves. He promptly tied a ribbon loosely to it, put it around his neck, and proclaimed “Whoever shall take it is my love!” This information has been kept from everyone but the Nordics and Albert, because they’re pretty sure it’s an enchanted ring.  
Sometimes he eats so many sweets, he winds up sick for a week.  
His growl is just like Sweden’s growl.

『Character Headcanons』  
He and Prussia would be the kings of pranking, if they could just stop throwing punches every time they see each other.  
He was somewhat friends with Prussia before Germany was founded. Not long after, their constant prank war turned into fighting when around each other.  
If Netherlands had known he had sensory overload when they first met, they would be the best of friends.  
Sweden checks in on Alrik without his knowing sometimes, just to make sure he’s okay. He knows there’s a lot of bad that could happen really fast.  
His infatuation with Italy started when he introduced himself as the personification of Fika and the Italian turned as red as a tomato. Turns out, “fika” means something very different in Italian.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•


	3. Alrik Necklace Origin

Berwald hands Alrik a cup filled with hot chocolate. He huffs softly, but doesn’t complain about the drink. He knows it’s for his own good. Caffeine could hurt him, especially since the ban on it just lifted a day ago. He drains the drink quickly, and cuddles into the country with a sigh. He closes his eyes and curls up against his side. “Wh’re’s the n’w scar?” His voice is soft yet concerned, and Alrik is grateful for the gentle tone.  
“My lower back. Please be careful, it still hurts. I don’t think it’s done forming yet.”  
“M’kes s’nse it w’ld st’ll be f’rming. N’t ev’ryone h’s coffee b’ck y’t.” Berwald tugs up his shirt just enough to see the scar. He sighs heavily when he sees it; an angry red line from the bottom of his right ribs to his left hip.  
“That looks painful. Here, drink this. It’s a potion that should lessen the pain.” Lukas hands him a cup, a soft smile on his lips. Alrik thanks him quietly, and begrudgingly swallows down the foul-tasting liquid. He nearly immediately feels much better, but the scar still aches a bit. He hugs Berwald tightly and buries his face in his chest. The large man runs his fingers through his hair in an attempt to soothe him. After a moment, Lukas speaks up again. “I have something for you, Alrik. I hope it makes you feel better. I know this has been going on since before I came here, and four other scars formed before that, but maybe this will be the last coffee ban. We can always hope.”  
“Mmhmm, we can! But you didn’t have to get me anything.”  
“I’ve had it for years, so I didn’t exactly get it for this situation, but it’s something I want to give you. Thank you for entertaining me, even though you’ve been in pain for almost as long as I’ve been here. You’ve been very kind to me.” He holds out his open hand. A silver band rests on his palm. Alrik reaches out and takes it apprehensively. He examines it closely, turning it over and over and over.  
“Thank you very much. It’s beautiful.” He looks away from the ring long enough to give Lukas a bright smile, then goes back to staring at it.  
“This ring is special. It’s yours for now, but I would like you to give it to the one you truly love, when you find them. It’s a symbol of hope right now to stop the coffee bans, and it can be a symbol of hope the two of you are forever when the day you give it away comes.” He curls Alrik’s fingers around the ring tenderly. “I wish you luck finding them.” He kisses his hand, then leaves the room. The moment he is gone, the short man slips out of bed and goes over to his dresser. He grabs some ribbon, and makes his way back to Berwald. Normally he would be bouncing around the room, but he’s still too injured to do that. He cuddles back up into him as he works on cutting the ribbon. He measures it around his neck, then ties both ends to the ring. He furrows his brows when he can’t pull it on over his head.  
“Wh’t are du doing?” Alrik scrunches up his nose for a moment, then cuts the middle. He ties it around his neck, and looks up at him.  
“Whoever shall take it is my love!” He flinches with the effort of the exclamation. Berwald wraps an arm around him and rubs circles into his back.  
“D’n’t p’sh yours’lf. Och is th’t really the b’st idea? Du sh’ld let yours’lf f’ll in l’ve b’fore g’ving it up l’ke th’t.”  
“Thank you.” He nuzzles him lovingly. “And I’m not giving it up. I’ll only tell people I really really care about. It will give them a choice. If they take it, I’ll know they’re willing to do strange things to keep me loving them. If not, then I don’t want to love a boring person.” It sounds harsh, but he doesn’t want to be stuck with someone boring forever. His stomach suddenly sinks, and tears come to his eyes. What if he’s not around forever? What if he’s not around even for another century? He’s almost died five times from the coffee bans. If they do another, he’s not certain they will ever lift it. This one was much longer than most of the others. One more ban, and he could cease to exist. He falls into Sweden’s chest, sobbing hard. Stunned, the country brings his hand up to mess with Alrik’s hair.  
“Wh’t’s wr’ng?” He shakes his head, and cries harder. Berwald hugs him tighter. He’s not good at comforting, but he can try. It breaks his heart to see him this way. He pushes his hair back and kisses his forehead. “‘M r’ght h’re,” he mumbles into his hair as he kisses that too. “Alw’ys r’ght h’re. F’r du. Jag älskar dig.” Alrik relaxes considerably. His country will always be there for him. That eases his mind. Soon enough, he stops crying and falls asleep, dreaming of a happy future where he’s more alive than ever.


	5. Alrik x Germany (Alternate Pairing)

Alrik tugs his phone out of his pocket when he feels it vibrate. Mathias invited everyone over for a party when the World Meeting ended. Can du make sure Albert is in my room before it starts? I’ll sit with him. I’d rather not join in on this party. But du can. He looks over at his brother after reading the text from Berwald. He’s curled up by his side, head on his shoulder, sleeping. He wiggles out from under him carefully, places a blanket over him, and kisses his forehead. Albert coos softly and cuddles into the bed. Alrik is glad they were in Berwald’s bedroom already. Hopefully he won’t wake up while he gets ready.  
To say he prepared for this is an understatement. He unzips his suitcase and pulls out his makeup bag. He grabs the outfit he packed just in case a party were to happen as well, and practically runs to the bathroom so he can get ready. He puts on the dress, and stares at his reflection. The shimmery silver dress has long sleeves, and the skirt stops just below his knees. He twirls around with a soft laugh. The skirt flares out quite a bit as he turns. It reminds him that he has a petticoat, which he promptly searches for and yanks on excitedly. He brushes out his hair, puts a copper flower hair clip on his left side, diagonal from the end of his eyebrow, and does his makeup in just under fifteen minutes. He smooths out any wrinkles in the dress as he inspects his makeup. His eyelashes are white, his eyeshadow is silver with white glitter, and his eyeliner is silver and perfectly winged. Something’s missing. He dips his blush brush in silver makeup glitter and dusts it over his cheeks and the tip of his nose. There! That looks better.  
He’s putting away his makeup bag when the music starts. He rushes out to find his uncle Mathias, but bumps into Gilbert instead. “Vhy hello zere, beautiful.” Alrik stares at him like he’s insane. It takes a long moment for him to realize the albino doesn’t recognize him. This could be fun. “Ich don’t zink I’ve had ze pleasure to meet jou. Are jou related to Mathias?”  
“Ja. He’s my uncle.” He raises the pitch of his voice a bit so he doesn’t give himself away. “Och who might du be?” He bats his eyelashes at him.  
“Ah, a Swedish beauty. Jou must personify something from there. Ich am ze awesome Gilbert! Come, drink vith me.” He takes Alrik’s hand and drags him to the main room. Before he can protest, a glass is shoved into his hand. He sniffs the alcohol, and his nose scrunches up in distaste. He doesn’t normally drink, but he sips on it to make Gilbert happy. He’s glad it’s just beer. He has a high tolerance for most alcohol, but vodka would have him drunk in a matter of a few sips. He watches the albino drink down about a dozen beers by the time he’s finished one. “Jou are very cute.” He leans closer to Alrik, smiling mischievously. “Can Ich kiss jou?”  
“Nej.” He shoves Gilbert away. “Jou smell like beer.”  
“So vhat Ich am hearing is jou vould kiss me if Ich vere not drunk?” He slings an arm around his waist. Okej. This is nej longer fun. Before he can pull away from him, he’s calling out to his brother. “Ludvig! C’mere! Come meet my girlfriend-to-be!”  
“I am not your ‘girlfriend-to-be’! Get off of me!” Alrik yanks away from him, and runs blindly into the crowd. He hears heavy footsteps behind him, and changes route. He slips into his and Albert’s room, and hides behind the open door. He holds his breath for at least a minute before deeming it safe and letting himself pant.  
“Jou hurt mein bruder by running off like zat.” He jumps, and spins around. Ludwig. He narrows his eyes at him. “Don’t look at me like zat. Jou will go back und apologize. Now.”  
“I will do nej such thing!” The German steps closer, his eyes going dark.  
“Jou vill. Ich vould do anyzing to make mein bruder happy. If jou make him happy, zen jou are going to spend at least ze rest of zis party vith him.” Alrik’s stomach drops. Ludwig is slowly getting closer. He’ll be trapped between a body and a door if he doesn’t do something soon. He squeezes past the large man, intending to run when he’s able to, but he’s frozen in his tracks when he feels the ribbon and ring around his neck slip off. It’s never slipped off before, and it’s been centuries of wearing it every day. He’s terrified to turn around, but he does. The German’s eyes dart between the necklace in his hand and him.  
“What did du do!?” Tears threaten to spill onto Alrik’s cheeks when he sees the ring dangling there. Ludwig’s eyes widen, and he stumbles over his words. From what he can gather, he panicked when he tried to run off and grabbed for him, but his fingers were only able to catch the ribbon. Alrik slams the door shut. “Stay. In. Here.” He walks over to his bed and sits on the edge of it. He brings his hand up to his throat, where the ring usually is. He can feel the ribbon and silver on his skin now that it’s gone. He had gotten so used to it he couldn’t feel it, but now…  
“Ich am so sorry. Here, jou can have it back! Ich vould never purposefully upset a beautiful voman such as jourself.”  
“I am not a woman! Och I hate you! Du are not supposed to be my forever! I want Lukas!” He curls up in a tight ball, crying into his knees. Ludwig feels incredibly awkward. He’s not sure what’s happening, but maybe Norway can tell him? That’s who he’s asking for, after all. He slips out of the room as quietly as he can, still holding the ribbon and the ring. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to find Norway.  
“Zere jou are! Can jou help me? Zere’s zis-”  
“Where did you get that?” He stares intently at the ring. “Where is he? Tell me now!”  
“I-I’ll take jou!” He makes his way through the crowd to the room he left the woman? Man? Person. Norway follows after him closely, but he looks more than displeased. He looks absolutely furious.  
“Alrik!” He rushes to the form on the bed and hugs him tightly. Ludwig’s stomach twists up. Alrik? His brother’s interest was caught by Alrik!?  
“Germany, come here. Now.” He closes the door behind him and makes his way to the bed apprehensively.  
“He can have it back, it vas just an accident.” Norway shakes his head.  
“It’s not that simple. Rik, do you mind if I have him sit?”  
“Jag vill se honom död! Säg åt Berwald att döda honom! (I want him dead! Tell Berwald to kill him!)” He flails his arms about. Lukas laughs nervously and takes his wrists gently.  
“You don’t mean that. Please, calm down. Would you rather him sit on Albert’s bed?”  
“Dra åt helvete. Låt honom sitta på min. (Go to hell. Let him sit on mine.)”  
“Come here, Germany. Though I would suggest sitting out of arm’s reach.” Ludwig quietly sits on the foot of what he assumes is Alrik’s bed. He doesn’t think he wants to know what the angry man said. Norway sighs heavily. He runs his fingers through Alrik’s hair in an attempt to get him to calm down. “I gave him that ring after the last country-wide ban on coffee was lifted. At the time, it stood for hope there wouldn’t be another ban. I told him to give it to the one he truly loves, when he finds them. It was supposed to continue to be a symbol of hope, but for them to last forever. He…”  
“I tied it to that ribbon and declared ‘whoever shall take it is my love.’ I never intended for it to be removed by du. Jag hatar dig! Jävla jävel. (I hate you! Fucking son of a bitch.)”  
“Nice words, Alrik. Be. Nice.” Norway looks at Germany apologetically. “He made a promise to himself he would love whoever takes it. He’s stubborn, so you’re stuck with him. I’m sorry you were sucked into this.”  
“Ist zere not anozer vay?”  
“Unfortunately there isn’t. Even if you gave it back and I were able to do a memory wipe, we are unsure if the ring is enchanted or not. If it is, it would draw you together against your will. It is better to try getting along willingly than being forced together unwillingly. Which means you need to behave, Alrik. Stop insulting him.”  
“Kuksugande jävel. (Cock-sucking son of a bitch.)”  
“Right. Good luck with him.” He stands slowly. “I’ll put together some papers on how to deal with him. Come find me before the party ends. You two can discuss how this is going to work.” He leaves the room, ignoring Alrik’s whine for him to come back. Ludwig scoots closer to him cautiously.  
“Ist zere anyzing Ich can do for jou?” He’s not happy with the situation, but the smaller man seems much more upset than he is.  
“Tell Feli I am sorry I’ll never be able to be with him.” Ludwig is caught off guard.  
“Jou… like Feliciano? Ist zat vhy jou hate me? Are jou… jealous?”  
“Shut up! Jävel!”  
“Zere ist nozing between us, Alrik. Ich-”  
“Don’t du ever say my name again!” He launches himself into the German’s chest, pounding as hard as he can on it. After a moment, he starts sobbing. Ludwig slowly brings his hand up to his hair and runs his fingers through it, like he saw Norway doing. After awhile, he stops crying. “G-Germany?” His voice is weak.  
“Ja?” His heart hurts from how broken he sounds.  
“D-don’t leave me…”  
“Alright. Ich von’t.” Alrik clings to him tightly. His grip is painful. “But vhat about Feliciano? Should Ich go tell him zat still?”  
“Mmhmm. Please.” He pulls away from Germany and wipes his eyes. “I didn’t ruin my makeup, did I?”  
“Nein, jou didn’t. Vould jou like to come back to ze party? Ve can get to know each ozer better over some drinks.” He bows his head, and nods shyly.  
“I’m sorry for acting out. I-I have sensory overload. More than one kind. If it gets set off, I say and do some things I don’t mean.” That would explain a lot. Maybe he should give him another chance, now that he knows. But he has to learn something first.  
“It’s alright. Zank jou for telling me. But Ich have ein question. Vhy do jou growl at me vhen jou see me?” Alrik furrows his brows. He can’t tell him the complete truth. Maybe only part of it?  
“I love Feli. But du are closer to him than me.” He clenches his fists tightly. “I doubt he even cares about me. I’ve been fooling myself by hoping he does. He doesn’t even pay attention to me outside of crowds.” He turns and lays his head on his pillow. “I don’t want to go back out there now. It will hurt to see him. I’ve finally accepted he will never care.” Ludwig’s face turns crimson and he looks away from Alrik quickly. Now he knows why his dress skirt is so poofy. And that petticoat does not fold under the weight of gravity. He shakes his head hard. He feels dirty for peeking at his underwear. But it was an accident!  
“Don’t say zat. Jou can have fun vithout him. Celebrate ze realization.” When he doesn’t get a response, he sighs. “See jou after ze party zen, to discuss… zis.” He motions between them, then at the ribbon and ring. Alrik rolls his eyes.  
“I’ll go home with du. There, discussed. Now leave so I can be sad alone.” Ludwig slides off the bed, avoids looking anywhere he might regret, and pulls on his hands until he’s in a sitting position. “I told du to leave.”  
“I’m not going to leave jou to be depressed. Jou got all ready for zis party und kept jour makeup nice. At least come sit vith me.” Alrik looks up at him through his lashes. Germany is actually nice? Even after all he’s put him through. He sighs heavily, and stands up.  
“Okej. But only because du want me to. Du are being much kinder than I deserve.” He gives him a soft smile, fixes his hair, and takes his hands. Ludwig ignores the strange gesture, and leads him out to the main room.  
“Gilbert! There jou are. Ve have to talk.”  
“Ah! Ich see jou convinced her to come back!” He slings an arm around Alrik’s waist. His eye twitches.  
“Nein. Get your hand avay from him.” He tugs his brother’s arm away. “Let me explain ze situation before jou set him off.” He pulls him away. Alrik can still see them, but he can’t hear them. He shrugs, and decides to go to the kitchen to make himself some coffee. It’ll be a nice distraction from everything going on.  
“JOU VHAT!?!” Well, sounds like Prussia knows now. He takes his coffee back into the room, sipping happily on it. He feels much better now. He catches Ludwig staring at him. He waves, giving him a small smile. The German turns his head away quickly. Oh well. Guess he doesn’t want him around his brother yet. He sways a bit to the music, letting himself enjoy it.  
“Zing ist, now zat he’s not being aggravating, he’s razer cute. Am Ich crazy?” Gilbert raises a brow at him.  
“Ludvig, Ich vanted to kiss him less zan an hour ago. He’s adorable, vhen he’s not ready to fight. Jou’re not crazy.” He smirks. “Jou should ask him to dance. He looks lonely.” He points at him. Ludwig shakes his head.  
“Zat ist a very bad idea, Gil.”  
“Vell if jou don’t do it, Ich vill! It’s criminal to leave someone zat lovely to dance alone.” He marches over to Alrik and holds his hand out. Ludwig watches his mouth move, and he actually accepts the offer. What sort of witchcraft? He shakes his head and goes to find a beer.

Ludwig has lost count of how many drinks he’s had. He feels slightly tipsy, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. He’s been watching Alrik and Gilbert dancing for the past two hours. The party has gotten way out of hand, and there’s definitely humans here, but that’s to be expected from a party thrown by Denmark. Alrik breaks away from Gilbert, likely to use the restroom, and Ludwig is immediately on alert when one of the humans hands him a drink. His brother has convinced the man to have a few, so he’s not completely sober. He must be just drunk enough to think that accepting a drink from a stranger is a good idea, because he says something to him then sips on the alcohol. He finishes it off quickly, then excuses himself again to continue on his way. The human follows after him, and Ludwig decides he should make sure nothing suspicious is happening. “Excuse me.” The human practically jumps out of his skin.  
“M-may I help you?” He narrows his eyes.  
“Jou just had mein friend drink somezing. Jou didn’t roofie him, did jou?” He raises one brow. The man laughs nervously, then darts off. Ludwig runs after him. He grabs him by the collar of his shirt and slams him against the wall. “Jou vill never touch him. Got it? Now leave zis party, und never try zat vith anyone ever again.” He drags him to the door by his shirt, and literally throws him outside. “Good. Riddance.” He sneers at the man, and watches him scramble away. Something shiny catches his eye, and he looks down at his wrist. He forgot he had Gilbert tie the ribbon and ring around his wrist. Alrik! He shoves his way through the crowd, trying to find him or his brother. “Gilbert! Zere jou are! Nein time to explain, just find Alrik! Now!” He continues on his way, hoping he’s near the restroom. He sighs in relief when he sees him coming out of the room. “Zank goodness.” He picks Alrik up and puts him over his shoulder.  
“Put me down! Right! Now! Ludwig!” He kicks at him, but his silver flats aren’t exactly built to inflict pain, and Germany is a brick. He considers screaming at the top of his lungs, but decides it might not be the best idea to interrupt the party for a kidnapping from someone he knows. He gets placed on a bed and huffs angrily. He crosses his arms over his chest angrily. “Explain yourself.”  
“Jou’ve been roofied. Zat human tried to take advantage of jou. Ich took care of him, but Ich don’t vant jou around ozers vhen it kicks in.”  
“Du are being ridiculous. I was having a fun time! Let me go back to dancing!” Ludwig rubs at his temples. Of course someone so fiesty isn’t going to listen to him.  
“Okay, zen let’s dance.” He holds out his hand to him. Alrik gasps and grabs his wrist.  
“Du are wearing the ring. Sort of. Why?” He blinks up at him with large, innocent eyes. Argh! He’s not supposed to be cute! He’s supposed to be someone that hates him for being so close to Feliciano!  
“Dance with me und I’ll answer.” He says smoothly.  
“Fine. But only one song! And du tell me while we dance, not after. That way I know I’m getting my payment.” To be so small, he’s scarily demanding.  
“Ja, okay. Ich promise.” Alrik glares at him, but takes the offered hand and stands. They can hear the music here, though it’s a bit muffled. Thank goodness it’s not a slow song. “Ich vant to at least try being togezer.” That’s so awkward to say. “Ze zing jou said vhen jou vere first given zis ring seems to be important to jou. Jou didn’t even growl at me after Ich accidentally pulled it off. Danke for zat, by ze vay. Jour growl ist scary.”  
“Hmph. As it should be.” He twirls with the music. “But I suppose du wanting to try should show me that du aren’t as bad as I thought du were. Maybe. I want more proof though.” Ludwig can’t help but think he’s definitely going to get that when the drug kicks in. He’s honestly surprised he’s not passed out now, much less hasn’t felt it yet. He’s so small. He links his fingers with Alrik’s, and watches him spin. He’s smiling, and his eyes are closed. His hair almost seems to float around his face. It’s a very unique colour. Pretty. He feels something brush against his thighs, and looks down. His skirt is flared out all the way, and it’s touching his pants a bit. Are Alrik’s hips really at his thighs? He laughs as he comes to a stop, and stumbles a bit. Ludwig catches him by his arms.  
“Steady.”  
“I don’t need your help!” He tries to pull away, but wobbles a bit. “Okay, maybe I do.” He leans into him heavily. “This doesn’t mean anything.”  
“Of course not. Ich vould never zink it does.” He can’t help but chuckle. He’s expecting to be reprimanded for laughing, but when it doesn’t come, he looks down at Alrik. “Hey. Are jou okay?” He groans softly.  
“My head hurts. And I’m sleepy. And still dizzy! I’m never dizzy this long! I spin a lot!” Ludwig picks him up and sets him on the bed again. He doesn’t complain.  
“Ze drug must be kicking in. Jou should change into more comfortable clothes. Do jou have any in here? I’ll go tell Bruder jou are fine while jou dress.” He nods a bit, but he doesn’t look like he knows what he’s doing. “Hey. Alrik. Look at me.” He grabs his face. “Where are jour night clothes?”  
“Bottom right drawer.” He falls back against the bed with a sigh. “Feels nice.” Ludwig shakes his head, and goes to the drawer to pull out some clothes for him. They’re so small and cute! He places them next to Alrik, and lifts him again. “What?”  
“Put zese on.” He grabs them again and places them in his hands. “I’ll close the door on my vay out. Ich need to speak vith my bruder for a moment. I’ll be back, Ich promise.” The smaller man giggles, and nods along to his words. He starts undressing himself, and Ludwig rushes out of the room before he can see anything, face red. He closes the door behind him, and starts calling out for his brother. It isn’t long before they bump into each other. “Gilbert!”  
“Did jou find him? Vhat happened?”  
“He’s fine. A human roofied him. I’m going to stay vith him. Vill jou tell Denmark?” Gilbert’s eyes widen and his brows furrow.  
“Ich knew Ich should have gone vith him! But he insisted he vould be fine vithout me. Ich saw zat disgusting creature eyeing him long before he left. Zis ist my fault!”  
“Nein Bruder. It ist not. Don’t blame jourself. It is ze human’s fault. Ich took care of him zough. But ve’re staying here tonight. Ich am going to stay by his side. Can jou apologize, und speak about a room vith Denmark?”  
“Ja, of course. But do get some sleep. Once he’s asleep, jou can relax. Don’t forget to let jourself relax. Promise me jou vill sleep tonight.” Ludwig makes a face. His brother knows him too well.  
“Fine. Ich promise Ich vill try to sleep tonight.”  
“Laying in a bed und under blankets, Luddy.” He points a stern finger at him, then leaves. That may or may not happen, depending on what Alrik has to say about sharing his bed. From the encounter earlier with Norway in the room, he gathered he’s not allowed to touch the other bed. He returns to him, and closes the door behind him quietly.  
“Jou didn’t even put jour shirt on properly!” He tugs the shirt down, ignoring his exposed stomach. His pale skin is not alluring! “Zere. Better.”  
“Tack.” He wraps his arms around the pillow and hugs it to his chest. “My head hurts. I feel sick. Everything’s funny.” He giggles a bit. Ludwig sighs softly.  
“Ich can’t promise it vill help, but Ich can get jou a painkiller?”  
“Nej! Don’t go again!” His eyes fill with tears. At least he was able to remove his makeup. “Stay. I want cuddles!” He shoves the pillow away and makes grabby hands to the German. He crawls into the bed with him hesitantly. Alrik whines loudly, about to burst into tears. “Not that way! Let me lay on you!” Not wanting to have a crying man he doesn’t know how to soothe on his hands, Ludwig pulls him on top of him. He cuddles into his chest with a contented sigh, and closes his eyes. “Tack.” His hair tickles Ludwig’s nose as he moves around some more. Finally he settles, and his breathing evens out.  
“Are du asleep?” He asks quietly. He waits at least a minute for a response before deeming him asleep. Good. With him asleep, nothing bad can happen. Except now that he’s asleep, Ludwig’s mind starts wandering. They’re both laying on their backs, but Alrik is a bit crooked. One of his legs is between the German’s legs, and the other is beside one. That could cause serious problems in the morning. He tries to move him, but he starts whining again. That’s not going to work. Maybe he can just wake up first and slip out from under him! That works perfectly. He’ll probably sleep much longer than normal from the drug as well. Satisfied nothing can happen, he closes his eyes and lets himself drift off. It’s easier than he thought it would be, with that music going.

Alrik wakes up surrounded by warmth. It feels wonderful, but he’s suspicious of it. He can’t bring himself to open his eyes though. The light is already giving him a headache. His stomach lurches, and he jumps up, running to the en suite. He throws up into the toilet, but his stomach doesn’t let up. “B-Berwald!” His ‘scream’ is barely above a whisper. “BERWALD!” This time it’s more of his speaking voice, but it’s definitely not loud enough to get anyone’s attention. He sits in the floor and leans his head on the porcelain of the toilet, waiting for his stomach to lurch again. Soft sobs escape his lips every now and then. Why can’t he remember last night? All he can remember is that Germany has his ring around his wrist, and he’s actually being nice to him because of it. “B-Berwald… P-please…” He shivers in fear.  
Ludwig jerks awake to the sound of sobs, then a voice. It sounds so desperate. He wipes the sleep from his eyes, and follows the voice. The sight that greets him breaks his heart a bit more than he would like to admit. A trembling Alrik, forehead pressed against the toilet that he’s already been sick in. “Someone… Please… It h-hurts.” He wraps his arms around his stomach. The German sits behind him and pulls his hair back.  
“Here, let me help.” Alirk flinches, but doesn’t show any other sign he knows he’s there. “Jou’re alright. Ze drug must still be in jour system.”  
“D-drug?” He shudders again. Ludwig realizes it’s not because he’s cold.  
“Nothing to vorry about now. Jou’re getting it out. Do jou need anyzing for jour head? Should Ich get someone?”  
“Nej!” He groans softly. That hurt. “Nej. I’m fine with du. I only want one person seeing me like this. I’m not happy it’s du, but I’m glad it’s not Albert.”  
“Jou must love zis Albert. Jou allowed me on jour bed vhen Norvay mentioned letting me sit on his, und now jou’re glad he’s not seeing jou like zis.”  
“Mmhmm! Very much. I have to protect my little brother as much as I can. He already struggles enough as is.” Ludwig notices a bit of colour returning to his face.  
“Vould jou mind telling me about him?” Maybe it will help him get back to his normal self.  
“He personifies Stockholm Syndrome. He’s very afraid of tainting anyone with it, so he always wears gloves och a scarf och long sleeves och pants och covers everything but part of his face when he goes out, or when anyone besides family is home with him. He wears these cute little round glasses that touch his cheeks, which helps more with the shielding. But I think he should stop worrying so much! I doubt he can just touch someone and influence them with Stockholm Syndrome.” He sticks his bottom lip out in a pout. “He won’t listen to me. Ever.” His body heaves, and he throws up again. Tears stream down his cheeks. “Everything hurts… L-Luddy, h-help…” Ludwig’s chest tightens at the nickname, but he doesn’t let it show.  
“Vhat can Ich do to help?”  
“Carry me back to bed. My stomach feels better, but the lights hurt my head.” He scoops the man up, and does as he is told. He returns to the bathroom long enough to flush the mess down, then goes back to the whining Alrik. “There du are. Come cuddle me until I fall asleep!”  
“Ich zink jou need somezing to eat.”  
“I will kick du in the balls. Cuddle. Me. Now.” He crawls into the bed quickly, fearing for his poor reproductive organs. Alrik cuddles into his chest face-first, and wraps his arms around him tightly. “Stroke my hair, or I bite a nipple.” He brings his hand up and starts playing with his hair. He never thought he would fear someone so short, but here he is. “Good. God Natt.” His arms squeeze him more, but after a few minutes they loosen a bit. Ludwig can’t move anything but his hands and wrists. He wiggles them a bit, and he comes into contact with skin. His shirt must have ridden up. His skin is so soft. He wasn’t expecting that. He places a hand on his waist, and it hits him just how small he is. He’s sure his fingers would be touching if he had both hands on either side of his torso. Curious, he does just that. They don’t quite touch, but it’s very close. Why is he touching him without permission!? He yanks his hands away.  
“I see he has you trapped. I knew he didn’t hate you.” Ludwig looks at the doorway. Norway is standing there, the faintest of smiles on his lips. “He loves very easily. I think you’re a better fit than Italy.”  
“Vhat do jou mean?”  
“He’s willingly cuddling you. Yes I know what happened, but he never cuddles with anyone he doesn’t care deeply about. I doubt that would change because of a drug. You are the third person he’s ever cuddled with.” Ludwig flushes crimson. Perhaps this will work out after all. “Here. I wrote out everything about how to deal with him when he… gets upset.”  
“He told me he has sensory overload.”  
“Did he tell you what kinds?”  
“Nein. Kinds?”  
“He has hearing, taste, and touch sensory overload. He’s learned how to avoid the taste one, and the hearing only gets set off if he’s not expecting loud noises, but he’s not the best with the touch one. He also has ADHD. Berwald thinks it’s because Fika, what he personifies, has so much coffee involved. We’re not sure about the sensory overload though. I think it might be from the coffee bans.” Ludwig nods along slowly.  
“Zat makes sense, in a vay. Ich imagine zere vas lots of yelling und grabbing.”  
“I have my own theory on the taste one, but it’s a bit dark.” The German raises his eyebrows questioningly. “Gustav III had an experiment done on a set of twin prisoners. One was forced to drink a lot of coffee every day, and the other was forced to drink the same amount of tea a day. He was trying to prove drinking coffee did horrible things and caused an early death. The one that drank coffee was the last to die. But I think the difference in taste and it going on during the bans caused that sensory overload.”  
“Ich could see it.” He glances at Alrik. He watches his chest rise and fall as he breathes. “Ich never imagined…”  
“I’ll leave you two be.” He places the papers on the dresser and leaves, closing the door silently behind him. Ludwig stares at the man in his arms. It’s easy to imagine waking up like this every day. He’s more than cute when he’s sleeping; he’s a bit handsome as well. And beautiful. Definitely beautiful.  
“I can feel du staring at me.”  
“Sorry.” He turns his head away.  
“Nej. Don’t stop.” Alrik tightens his grip on Germany again. “It feels nice to have someone looking at me for once.”  
“Jou don’t get much attention, do jou?”  
“Nej,” he shakes his head. “I mean I get plenty of attention from family, but… Ah, it’s silly.” He cuddles closer to the larger man.  
“Jou can tell me. Ich have ze ring, after all. If jou can’t trust someone zat refuses to leave jou because of ze importance of zis, zen vho can jou trust?” He chuckles softly.  
“It’s just… I feel like nej one ever looks at me. Not in a romantic way, anyway. Everyone around me is much prettier than I am. Even Albert gets some… lustful looks. I don’t like that he does, but it still makes me feel…”  
“Inferior?” He nods.  
“It’s stupid, but-”  
“Nein. It ist not stupid.” He kisses the top of Alrik’s head. “So zat’s vhy jou vere so happy to spend time vith Bruder last night.”  
“Mmhmm. I would have prefered it to be du, since du have the ring, but I didn’t want to push. Gilbert said something about du not wanting to when I mentioned it.” Guilt jabs into Ludwig’s stomach.  
“Ich vas nervous. Ich should have asked jou to dance.”  
“Nervous?” He looks up at him. “How is it possible du were nervous?”  
“Ich didn’t vant to disappoint jou. Jou stopped growling at me because of how important it ist to jou. I’m not zis amazing person. Ich am really oblivious und-”  
“Shush. Tack for caring. Du might be the only one that would take this whole ring thing seriously, besides my family. I’m glad it was someone so dedicated.”  
“Jou’re not mad it vasn’t Feliciano?” Alrik laughs, but it sounds broken to the German.  
“Feli would probably put it back around my neck and act like it never happened. I don’t think he really cares about what anyone but him is feeling.” He curls up in a tight ball against Ludwig. “I’ve accepted that he’ll probably never care for me. I’m glad someone that cares about others and their health took it. Even if du had nej idea what it stood for.” He grabs for Ludwig’s wrist. He smiles at the ribbon and ring there. “Du aren’t even trying to keep it hidden. That means a lot to me.” He nuzzles his hand.  
“Jou are much sveeter zan Ich ever zought jou might be.”  
“I did growl at du every time I saw du.” He laughs, and Ludwig chuckles along with him.  
“Ja, Ich suppose zat vould put a bit of a damper on zings.” Alrik smiles sadly at him.  
“I’m sorry for that. I never meant to hurt du.” He furrows his brows. “Wow. I can’t believe I was jealous because du are close to someone that never notices me. How ridiculous! I’m too good for him anyway. But just right for du, if du will have me.” Ludwig stares at him. He looks so genuine. He must be taking too long to answer, because Alrik starts to pull away. “Oh, okej. I’m sorry for-”  
“Nein, Ich got distracted. Jou are too cute. Of course I’ll have jou.” A blush spreads across the Swedish man’s cheeks. He buries his face in his chest and mumbles something. “Vhat did jou say? Ich didn’t quite catch zat.”  
“It’s nothing important.” He hugs Ludwig tightly. “Nothing important at all.”  
“Zat sounds like jou are avoiding saying somezing. Do jou not trust me vith it?” Alrik whines softly. Stupid German, assuming hurtful things.  
“Nej, It’s just embarrassing. But I pride myself on being an open book, so I'll tell du what I said. We should seal it with a kiss, ja?” Ludwig turns crimson. He pulls him up in the bed, so they’re facing each other. Alrik giggles, and kicks softly at his shins. “Not while we’re laying down, silly. That could turn into something more than a kiss. And I’m not doing that with Albert in the house!” He sits up, pulling the German with him. “Du are beet red! Are du feeling well?” He places his wrist on his forehead to check his temperature. “Du don’t feel warm. Are du just embarrassed?” He tilts his head slightly. His hair falls into his eyes, and Ludwig pushes it aside. He tucks it behind his ear, and gives him a smile. Alrik blushes a bit, and leans in to press their lips together. He pulls away at the last second and runs into the bathroom to brush his teeth first. Ludwig follows after him, a bit miffed that he didn’t get his kiss.  
He is filled with embarrassment when he sees what the man is doing. He was drugged, and he did get sick from it. He feels bad for letting that slip his mind. Alrik hops up on the counter when he’s done, and grabs the collar of his shirt. He yanks on the fabric until their lips smash together. Ludwig’s eyes widen, then flutter closed. The smaller man bites on his bottom lip harshly, causing him to gasp. He shoves his tongue into his mouth. It feels weird. He’s not used to being the submissive one in a kiss. Alrik might be shorter, and sitting on the counter, with Germany practically on top of him, but he’s the one in control. Ludwig decides to change that, and starts fighting back. “Hmph!” The Swedish man squeezes his thigh, and wins his control back. He runs his tongue along the top of Germany’s mouth, then pulls away. “That’ll teach du to fight me!”  
Ludwig blinks in shock. He shakes his head slightly, and wipes the saliva from his lips. “Vell aren’t jou competitive.” Alrik’s eyes glint, and he wraps his legs around him tightly, then his arms around his neck, and kisses him again. He stumbles backwards until he bumps into the wall. The smaller man releases his legs and arms, and boxes him in. He’s pinned to the wall by a man much shorter than him. He never expected that. Oh. Okay. That tongue is doing some sinful things. He moans involuntarily into the kiss. The Swedish man pulls away with a smirk.  
“We better stop, before du get any ideas~” He places his hand on his chest, then walks his fingers up to his neck. He taps his chin, pecks his lips, and skips back into the bedroom. Ludwig ambles after him, a bit confused about what just happened.  
He walks in on Alrik and Gilbert having a conversation. “Ich hear someone got pinned! But maybe jou should have stayed in ze bazroom.” He points down at his pants. The Swedish man snorts, and Ludwig turns and locks himself in the en suite. How embarrassing! He’s going to blame it on morning wood and not a reaction to that delightful kiss. He would keel over in embarrassment if it were from that. He takes a moment to will his half-erection away, then peeks his head into the room. He is surprised with a soft kiss to the lips, and a hand slips into his.  
“I’m ready to go when du are. It’s a good thing I always overpack. I’ll be staying with du for a week, then I wish to return home so I can watch after Albert for a bit. Du can come visit if du would like, or du can even stay. Until we are sure this is going to work, it will be one week with du och Gilbert, och one week spoiling my little brother. Du will not interrupt my time with him if du choose to stay with us, but I will make time for du if that is the case.” He wraps his arms around his neck. “Honestly? I’m glad du are the one that took the necklace. I never would have known how sweet du are otherwise. Tack for accidentally untying it, älskling.” Alrik hugs him tightly. He’s not quite sure what that word means, but the smaller man is beaming at him, so it must be good. He wraps his arms around him gently, and finds himself hoping this works out.


	6. Alrik x Prussia (Alternate Pairing)

Alrik is busy playing with the tie to his necklace when he spots Germany across the room. He walks over to him, stares him dead in the eyes, and growls at him. He smirks when he flinches back, and sticks his tongue out at him. “Weak.” Unfortunately for him, Prussia hears him call his little brother weak, and sees red. He pulls Alrik out of the room.  
“Ich am tired of jou insulting mein bruder! Vhat did he ever do to jou!?” He swings at Alrik, and the two quickly get into a fist fight. Alrik is silent, but Prussia shouts obscenities at him. This fight is particularly rough, and Alrik is distracted by his necklace slipping, so he gets hit more than normal. He holds his hand up and whines.  
“G-give me a moment. Please. Let me fix my necklace before it falls off och I lose it.” Prussia sneers at him.  
“Jou zink Ich am going to pause just because jour precious necklace is slipping? It’s jour own fault for not tying it back properly before insulting Luddy. Here’s vhat Ich zink about jour stupid ring necklace!” He yanks it off, and tosses it somewhere behind him. He goes to swing at the man in front of him again, but Alrik screams as loud and as high pitched as he can manage, causing him to put his hands over his ears. He shoves Prussia aside and runs after his necklace. He practically dives onto it, and curls up in a tight ball on the ground, hugging it tightly to his chest. His scream turns into sobbing, and tears flow down his cheeks.  
“Dra åt helvete! Jag hatar dig! Dö! Ta livet av dig som du redan borde ha gjort! (Go to hell! I hate you! Die! Kill yourself like you should have already done!)” The Nordics come rushing out, and Mathias and Berwald box Prussia in angrily. Lukas glares at them, and they back down.  
“What did you do, Gilbert? He’s never screamed like that before. If you permanently hurt him, you’re dead. I will personally kill you.” Prussia gulps, despite knowing he’s safe because he did no such thing.  
“Zat idiot asked to give him a moment because his stupid necklace vas slipping. Ich told him it vas his own damn fault for playing vith it before deciding mein bruder vas his next target. Zen Ich told him zis ist vhat Ich zought about zat dumb ring, und tore it from his fragile neck.” Lukas brings a hand up to his temple and rubs it in circles. Mathias and Berwald back Prussia into a wall. Finland disappears, likely to get his machine gun. And Emil looks ready to fight.  
“Right. I’m glad his brother isn’t here. Can I trust you two alone in a room long enough for you to explain the situation to him, Alrik, or should I?”  
“Skit i honom! Din jävel! Få honom att ta livet av sig! Jag vill inte vara hans för evigt! (Fuck him! You son of a bitch! Make him kill himself! I don't want to be his forever!)”  
“That would be a no. Come on, you two. We’re going to a private room, and I will watch over the two of you to make sure you don’t kill each other while Alrik explains. Either you come willingly, or I drag you both by the ear. Now.” He turns and walks toward the building. Prussia and Alrik follow after him, afraid of what he might do otherwise. He finds an empty room with chairs, and sets three in a circle. “Sit.” They do, albeit reluctantly. Alrik looks up at Norway, and Prussia bows his head awkwardly. Lukas sighs heavily, and sits in the chair that’s left. “Alrik? You’re telling him, since it’s what you said.”  
“Alright.” His voice is soft. Prussia turns his attention to the Swedish man, confused. “When I first got this ring, I declared that whoever shall take it from my neck would be my love. I made a promise to myself after that; I would try my very hardest to make whoever takes it my forever, nej matter who they are. I never thought it would be du.” He looks away from Prussia. “I’ll stop insulting your brother. Hopefully that means we can stop fighting.” Gilbert snorts.  
“Ich get it! Zis ist a joke! Gut ein!” He starts laughing. When no one else in the room laughs with him, he falls silent. “Oh. It’s not, ist it?” Alrik shakes his head solemnly. “Zat’s just great! Not like Ich had mein eye on someone else or anyzing! Nein, Ich refuse to do zis.” He stands and storms out of the room. Alirk hiccups, and buries his face in Lukas’s chest just before he starts bawling.

“Gilbert, Ich really zink jou should take zis seriously. Nein ein has seen him for a month, including his family. Ich heard he von’t even let his little bruder see him. Jou really hurt his feelings.” Ludwig gets a harsh glare thrown at him.  
“Ich can’t believe jou are on his side! If jou care so much, vhy don’t jou go satisfy his sick need for a German?”  
“Zat’s not how ze ring vorks, Gil. Ich have explained it to jou a dozen times. Have jou even listened?”  
“Of course not, Luddy. Vhy should Ich care? It only affects him! But Ich sure am glad he stopped calling jou names.” Ludwig gets in Gilbert’s face.  
“Listen to me.” He narrows his eyes at his startled brother. “He only said zose zings to me because he loves Feliciano. But he’s villing to put zat love aside because jou took ze ring from around his neck. Zat’s how important zis ist to him! Ze least he deserves ist an effort from jour side!” Gilbert curls his lip at him.  
“Ich can’t believe zis. Jou are actually on his side?” A nod. “Zen Ich guess Ich have nein bruder! Because mein true bruder vould understand vhy Ich am ignoring zis!” He runs off. Ludwig tries running after him, but it’s no use. He sighs heavily. Hopefully he comes to his senses soon.

Gilbert stares at his phone. Ludwig looks over his shoulder, and frowns. “Enchanted?” The Prussian quickly turns his phone off.  
“How many times do Ich have to tell jou not to read mein messages?”  
“Maybe jou shouldn’t look so shocked vhen jou read zem, und Ich vouldn’t get concerned. Vhat did Norvay mean by enchanted?” Gilbert closes his eyes tightly.  
“He means Ich vill be drawn more to ze brat ze longer Ich stay avay from him. But Ich am not going! Don’t let me go near him! It’s his fault! He shouldn’t put so much on a stupid ring!”  
“Gil, nein, don’t say zat. Jou don’t know vhat vas happening vhen he said it. Jou still don’t know vhat’s happening vith him because jou don’t care to learn. Vill jou at least speak vith him zrough messages? If jou truly hate him for him, und not because of ze zings he used to do to us, zen Ich vill find a vay to break zis enchantment. But jou have to give him a chance first.”  
“Fine.” He crosses his arms over his chest with a pout.  
“Danke. Ich vill tell Norvay und have him send jou his number.”

“Lukas says Alrik has started going on walks every day. It’s been five months since anyone’s seen him still though. He slips out vithout anyone noticing.” Gilbert looks up from his phone.  
“Und?”  
“Ich vas vondering if he’s told jou about zese valks.”  
“Of course not. Ich stopped talking to him a veek after jou convinced me to.” Ludwig raises a brow at him, and watches him squirm. “Vhat? Don’t look at me like zat! Ich mean it!” He puts his hands up.  
“I’m not accusing jou of anyzing. Ich vas just asking if jou knew his route. He’s been missing for a day.” Gilbert is suddenly at alert.  
“Vhat? Missing? Ist zat vhy he’s not responded for a few hours? Ich mean-Vhy vould Ich care!? He can handle himself! It’s not like Ich have fallen in love vith him or anyzing.”  
“Mm, right. Okay. Ich am going to help zem look for him. Ich von’t be back for a few days. Don’t burn ze house down.” He hikes a bag over his shoulder and leaves. Gilbert promptly hops up, and puts together a bag of his own, but no clothes go in it. He packs as many medical supplies as he can, and books a plane to Sweden on his way out the door.  
The moment he is out of the airport, he runs as fast as he can to the area Alrik told him he would be hiking today. There’s a lot of rivers in the area, and the water is up from a recent snow melt. “Alrik! Alrik, bitte! Alrik!” He looks around frantically. Each second that passes by, he’s filled with more worry. He notices a wet boot print on a rock out in the middle of the river. It’s so far from shore! His stomach drops when he realizes the roaring in the background is a nearby waterfall. “Nein! Nein nein nein nein nein!” He runs down the path, fearing the worst. That’s a steep waterfall. He searches the water at the base for any signs of life, and sighs heavily in relief when he sees a hand flailing above the surface. His relief is short lived, however, when it disappears and a head doesn’t pop up. He tosses his bag on the path, and jumps into the water without a second thought.  
He struggles with swimming against the current. He opens his eyes and looks around desperately. There! Alirk’s hair! He swims toward it as fast as he can. The closer he gets, the worse the situation looks. He’s unconscious. There’s blood in the water. He’s caught in the current of the waterfall, going around and around, never able to get to the surface, even if he were awake. Gilbert grabs him by the waist, and kicks as hard as he can. The current catches him for a moment, and he fears he might not be able to escape, but he manages to escape it just before he needs a breath. He pops up from the water, takes in a deep breath, and lifts Alrik’s head out of the river as well. He swims over to the shore closest to the trail, and his bag filled with medical items.  
He places Alrik on land before dragging himself beside him. He pants just long enough to catch his breath, and focuses on the Swedish man. His chest tightens when he doesn’t see him breathing. He presses down on Alrik’s chest desperately, and clenches his jaw when that causes water to come out of his mouth. “Alrik! Bitte! Jou have to be okay!” He pushes down harder. After a moment, he coughs, more water leaving his mouth. He groans, and his eyes flutter open. “Alrik!” Gilbert hugs him tightly.  
“Wh-what happened? I was taking a picture, and I…” He stares at Gilbert. His eyes are fuzzy. “I slipped. I-I fell down a waterfall. My head hurts…” He brings his hand up to his head, and gasps when he feels a warm liquid. He blinks a few times. Gilbert notices his eyes stay closed a bit longer with each blink, until he doesn’t open them again.  
“Alrik?” No response. He rushes over to the bag, and drags it over to the short man. He wraps his head where the wound is tightly, and examines him for any more cuts. He covers at least thirty before he stops counting. Most of them are too large for a normal bandaid as well. And that’s just what he can see. There’s blood seeping through his shirt. Though it feels wrong, he tugs his shirt off, and gasps when he sees the scars. They’re old, very old, so obviously they didn’t just happen, but they’re so deep. He shakes his head hard, and focuses on the areas that are bleeding. He flips him over after getting all the ones on his front, and frowns when he sees another old scar on his lower back. He’s definitely going to ask about those later. He finishes patching him up, and flops down next to him. He’s very glad Alrik decided to wear shorts today. Seeing his underwear would have been too embarrassing.  
He stares up at the sky, lost in thought. He nearly lost Alrik, and his heart is still hammering from the adrenaline. Ludwig was right. Giving him a chance was definitely worth it. But now he’s in love with someone that he used to physically fight with. And he still doesn’t know much about him, just that he loves talking to him and he wouldn’t trade it for the world. He slips his hand into Alrik’s, and squeezes. “Vake up. Bitte. Jou have to be okay. Ich didn’t almost drown meinself for jou to die on me.” He turns his head and kisses his cheek. He watches his chest, and smiles when he sees it moving. At least he’s breathing. He pulls his phone out of the bag, praying he has service here. Unfortunately he doesn’t, but he attempts to send a message to Ludwig anyway.  
Alrik’s fingers twitch, and he tightens his grip on Gilbert’s hand. He’s not sure who’s holding his hand, but it feels nice. It’s been months since he’s had any sort of human interaction. He just wishes his entire body didn’t hurt. He’s so stupid, for jumping that far. But he thought he could make it! He forces himself to open his eyes, and squeaks when he sees Gilbert laying next to him. “Alrik! Jou are avake! Zank goodness!” He pulls him on top of him in a tight hug. He lets out a groan of pain. “Sorry.” He laughs nervously. “Not to rush jou, but vhen jou feel strong enough, ve should go to find Sweden. Jour family ist vorried about jou.”  
Alrik buries his face in Gilbert’s chest. His clothes are wet. “Did du jump in to save me?” He nods sheepishly. He hugs him back. “Tack. That means everything to me.” He nuzzles him softly. “But I don’t think I’m able to walk. I tried to bury my feet under a boulder to keep myself from going over the waterfall. It…” He trails off. Gilbert nods in understanding, and sits up. He stands slowly, adjusting Alrik in his arms. Bridal style is easiest, though it’s embarrassing for both of them. He grabs the bag of medical supplies, and the Swedish man’s shirt, then starts walking. He’s been walking for maybe an hour and a half when he hears his phone go off. His text must have sent through when they got back in service. He looks down at Alrik, and smiles at his peaceful, sleeping face. How cute.  
He pulls out his phone to reassure his brother that they’re okay, and tell him their location. He waits at the trailhead for Ludwig to come pick them up. “Ich am sorry for being such an asshole to jou about ze ring. Ich zought it vas a joke. Ich see now zat it very much vasn’t. Ich vould like to try being jour forever, as jou put it.” He kisses Alrik’s cheek, then sighs. If only he could say that with him awake. He hears a vehicle pull up, and looks up just in time to see Ludwig hopping out of the driver’s seat.  
“Vhat happened? Ist he alright? How did jou find him?” Gilbert laughs nervously.  
“Ich might have been lying vhen Ich said Ich stopped talking to him.” He hugs Alrik closer. “I’m ze only ein he’s been trusting vith his location. Ich didn’t vant to break zat trust. But Ich knew somezing had to be vrong vhen jou said he had been missing for a day. Ich am just glad he didn’t fall in sooner. Ich vonder if he didn’t sleep all night und zat’s vhy he fell in?” Ludwig smiles softly at him.  
“It ist alright. Jou did vhat jou zought vas right, und he’s okay. Zat ist ze most important part. Get him in ze vehicle. Ich vill drive us back home. Ich am sure jou two need some privacy vhen he vakes up, und a vorried family ist not going to make zat possible.”  
“Danke, Bruder. But do tell zem zat he ist safe, bitte.” Gilbert puts Alrik in the vehicle, and makes sure he’s fastened in before running around to get in on the other side. He links their fingers together happily as Ludwig starts the vehicle back up. He lays his head on Alrik’s shoulder and closes his eyes.

“Bruder, vake up. Ve’re home. Ich am assuming jou vant to carry him in?” Gilbert opens his eyes slowly, and nods at the question. He squeezes Alrik’s hand before exiting the vehicle. It’s dark outside. Did they really take that long? He runs around the side to pull Alrik out, and carries him inside. He nods thankfully at his brother, who holds the door open for him. “Vhat are jou going to do vith him?”  
“Ich am going to let him sleep in mein bed tonight. Ich vill sleep in ze floor.” Ludwig stares at him in surprise. He must be serious about Alrik. Good.  
“Zat’s not vhat Ich meant. Jou are both vearing dirty, somevhat vet clothing. Jou can’t let him sleep in zat. But jou are very sveet to let him sleep in jour bed und not invade his personal space, despite ze love Ich can see in jour eyes for him. Nein, don’t try to deny it. Jou care deeply for him und it’s vonderful. Ich am glad jou set aside jour differences.” Gilbert nods slightly, and smiles at his brother.  
“Danke. Und Ich vill see if Ich can vake him up to give him some clothes to sleep in. If not, Ich vill try to be as appropriate as Ich can vhile dressing him in zem. Ich refuse to let him sleep in zose.” He carries Alrik to his room, and kisses his forehead once they’re alone. “Can jou vake up for me? Jou are still slightly damp. Ve both are.” Nothing. “Alrik.” He shakes him gently. Deep brown eyes open slowly, and GIlbert’s stomach flips. His eyelashes are so long, and his eyes are so pretty. He suddenly has the strongest urge to kiss him. He forces himself to look away, and laughs awkwardly. “Jou took quite ze tumble!” Alrik glares daggers at him.  
“Du don’t fucking say!” He wiggles a bit, and Gilbert releases him, making sure to be careful of his feet.  
“Awful zing to say. Mein apologies. Ich have some dry clothes for jou to change into. Can jou stand long enough to put zem on, or do jou need help?”  
“I can stand.” He bows his head shyly. “Tack for your worry though.” Gilbert smiles, and grabs the smallest clothes he has. He hands them to Alrik, gets some for himself, and leaves the room to dress himself. Alrik rolls his eyes and calls after him. “Gilbert! It would be nice if I could bathe first. I did get battered on the rocks.” He peeks back into the room, and smiles sheepishly at Alrik.  
“Of course. Let me help jou.” He walks over and picks him up again. “I’ll have to remove ze bandages as well. Jou von’t be able to reach zem all. I’ll draw jour bath as vell. Jou shouldn’t be doing too much. Ich vill take care of jou until jou get better. Und jou von’t have any family jou don’t vant here, Ich vill make sure of zat.” He sets him on the bathroom counter. “Give me just a moment.” He turns to the tub and starts filling it. He adds lots of bubbles, and smiles when he hears a giggle from Alrik. “Zat laugh of jours ist razer adorable.” He looks back at the Swedish man just in time to see his face turn crimson in a blush. “Cute.” He pokes his cheek. “But Ich should stop getting distracted. Ze bandages von’t remove zemselves.” He starts to remove them, being very gentle. He doesn’t want to hurt him.  
“Zere! Here, let me help jou vith jour boots.” He kneels, and unties them. When he doesn’t hear any protest, he pulls them off carefully.  
“I can do the rest. Tack for the help.” He shews him out of the room, much to his protest. Alrik sighs heavily when he’s gone. His feet are definitely bruised, and he doesn’t want Gilbert worrying about him any more than he already is. It’s really sweet of him to care so much. He slips off what’s left of his clothes, and makes his way painfully to the bath. He turns the water off, and slips into the tub. It’s warm and bubbly and it smells like Gilbert. Alrik rolls his eyes and laughs. He probably used his body wash to make the bubbles. It’s pleasant. He sinks into the water to better enjoy it.  
Alrik struggles a bit to dry himself off when he’s done, but he manages. He tugs on the clothes left for him, and looks at his reflection. There’s a deep, long cut on his right temple down to his jaw, and a few smaller ones on his cheek, but those will heal in no time. He can feel the fabric of the shirt and pants rubbing against other cuts, but thankfully they’re all healed enough not to be reopened by such a soft touch. He tugs the shirt up, but it falls off his shoulder again. Oh well, at least he looks cute, even if it is three sizes too big. He’s glad the pants are too long though, because they hide the bruises on his feet. He would put his socks back on, but they’re still wet. He still can’t walk very far though. “Gilbert! I’m done!” The Prussian is in the room within a matter of seconds.  
“Ich am here! Und jou have food in mein room. Ich zought jou might be hungry.” He flushes slightly, and rubs at the back of his neck awkwardly. Alrik notices his hair is damp. He must have taken a shower. “Here! Let me carry jou!”  
“Wait.” He holds up a finger. He searches through the pockets to the shorts he was wearing, and pulls out the ribbon and ring necklace. “I’m sorry it’s still a bit wet, we can replace the ribbon. Or du can just have the ring. But it’s yours now, i-if du want to try being together. I know I do.” He bows his head shyly. Gilbert’s heart breaks at the uncertainty in his voice. He takes the necklace, unties the ribbon from the ring, and slips it on his left ring finger. It barely goes over his first knuckle, but that’s the least of his worries right now. He cups Alrik’s cheek and kisses him tenderly. After a moment, he pulls away reluctantly.  
“Ich vant to try. Ich zink… Ich zink Ich liebe dich.” His voice is soft, and it makes Alrik feel all warm and fuzzy inside, though he has no idea what he said. It’s probably from the kiss. He wraps his arms around his neck, and pulls him down for another, deeper kiss. Gilbert practically melts into it, making it easy for him to take control. He nips at his bottom lip, and shoves his tongue into his mouth. He pushes him against the counter, and practically bends him over it. “Mphm.” He scoops Alrik up, breaking the kiss. “Jou naughty boy. Jou keep kissing me like zat, und Ich vill act up. Ve vouldn’t vant zat vith jou injured, now vould ve?” Alrik gives him an innocent look, and shakes his head. He pecks his lips, then motions toward the door with a giggle.  
“In a moment, Zimtbrötchen. (Cinnamon Roll.) Ich need to patch up a few of jour deeper cuts before Ich vill feel safe letting jou sleep. Vouldn’t vant zem to open in ze middle of ze night.” He kisses his forehead, and starts bandaging the worse areas. He starts with his temple, then tugs his shirt up. He whines in protest. “Ich already saw zem, Alrik. Jour scars. Vhat are zey from? Zey don’t hurt, do zey?” He runs his thumb over the longest one lightly. It sends shivers up his spine.  
“Nej, it doesn’t hurt as long as du don’t push down too hard. They’re from the coffee bans in Sweden. Because I stand for Fika, the bans hit me really hard. Coffee is a rather important part of Fika, after all. I have five in total. This one,” He places Gilbert’s hand over the one he just touched. “Is my longest. It’s the first one I recieved, from the coffee paraphernalia ban. This one,” he moves his hand over to the one on his left side. “Is the second one. This one,” he moves his hand to the one on his forearm. “Is my third and shortest. My fourth is on my inner left thigh, about the length of my hand. And this is my fifth one.” He grabs both of Gilbert’s hands and places them on the scar on his back. “This one is the reason I had the ring to begin with.”  
“Vould jou mind telling me zat story?”  
“Not at all.” He smiles at him, and kisses him again. “The fifth ban started and ended while Lukas was staying with Berwald. When it ended, Lukas gave me the ring and said it was a symbol of hope that there would be nej more coffee bans. But he had a condition. Once I found the one I love, I was to give it to them, so it could continue to be a symbol of hope. I was excited to recieve it, and thought nej one would touch it unless they knew what it stood for, so I put it on that ribbon. If the one I came to love learned what it meant to me och didn’t pull it off, then I thought they would be a boring person. Och I don’t want a boring lover! So it was the perfect way to know who my forever would be. I wasn’t expecting du to yank it off. But I’m sort of glad du did. We got to know each other because of it, och I know how sweet du can be now.” He kisses his cheek. A yawn slips past his lips, and he blushes. “Oopsie.” Gilbert chuckles.  
“Ich zink it’s time to get jou to bed. Danke for telling me zose zings. It means a lot to me. Und for ze record, Ich am glad jou had it on so Ich could accidentally tug it off. Und danke to mein bruder for having me speak to jou. Ich have enjoyed it. Und now Ich get to be vith someone as sveet as jou. Ich am glad he convinced me to set aside our differences because of zis ring.” He smiles brightly at him, then gets busy wrapping the rest of his really bad injuries. Once he’s done, he gives him a peck on the lips in reward for his good behaviour. He has a feeling their relationship is going to be filled with kisses. He carries Alrik to his room, and places him on his bed. “Zere. Rest now. Ich vill be right here if jou need me.” He sits on the little pallet he made on the floor for himself.  
“What are du doing? This is your bed.” He looks down at Gilbert, eyebrows furrowed. “Get up here och cuddle me.” He sticks his bottom lip out in a pout. “Before I fall asleep from exhaustion, preferably.” He huffs dramatically, and crosses his arms over his chest. The moment the Prussian stands, he reaches out for him, doing grabby hands. “Cuddles! Mine! My Gilbert! C’mere!” The larger man laughs, and hugs him close. He pulls the covers back, and crawls in with him. Alrik cuddles into the crook of his neck with a contented sigh. He smirks against the skin, and bites down. After a moment, he sucks as hard as he can. Gilbert grabs a fistful of his shirt and whines.  
“Jou tease.” He pants softly. The Swedish man releases his grip, and laughs.  
“God natt, kärlek.” He wraps his arms around him, and closes his eyes. Gilbert pulls him closer, desperately wanting to protect him from ever getting hurt again. His neck throbs lightly where Alrik left the mark, and he sighs in content. They can take care of each other, and he is so incredibly thankful for that. He lets his eyes close, and he dreams of love.


	7. Alrik x England (Alternate Pairing)

Alrik knocks on the door to Mathias’s room lightly, and it cracks open slightly. He peeks inside, lips already parted to start speaking, when he notices Lukas is in there too. He closes his mouth and furrows his brows. Are they kissing? His chest tightens, and he places a hand on it. It’s not fair! Everyone around him gets someone to love, but he’s never even kissed anyone. He’s starting to lose hope Feli will ever notice him in that way. It has been over a century, after all. The two in the room fall on the bed in a tangle of limbs. In the next moment, there’s a hand over his mouth, an arm around his waist, and he’s being dragged away from the door. He tries to scream, but it’s very muffled. “Fika,” a familiar voice hisses in his ear. “I will not hurt you. But I couldn’t let you disturb them.” He is released, and he turns on the person that grabbed him.  
“Idiot!” He sniffs, and brings his hand up to wipe at the tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. “Wh-what are du doing here, E-England?” He cringes at his stuttering. Stupid touch Sensory Overload! The Brit produces a handkerchief and holds it out to him. He snatches it from him, and dabs at his eyes quickly. “My accepting this doesn’t mean I forgive du for scaring me half to death! Och setting me off! Be glad I’m not pounding on your chest!”  
“I know. My deepest apologies. But things would have been worse if I left you there to watch them.” Alrik huffs, and crosses his arms over his chest.  
“Du didn’t answer my question!” He turns his back on him. After a moment, his curiosity gets the better of him. “Why would things have been worse if I stayed? They were just kissing.” England sighs heavily.  
“Of course Sweden hasn’t taught you about that yet. It doesn’t matter right now. I had an inquiry for Denmark, but I can see he is busy right now. I was unaware you were to be here though. It is a good thing I got here when I did. Why were you watching them?” Alrik whips around and narrows his eyes at him.  
“It does matter, because it’s the reason du pulled me away. But I’ll play along. It entertains me while they’re busy making out. I’m here to have a Fika with Uncle Den. I guess he forgot that was today.” His eyes cloud over with sorrow. “I didn’t mean to watch them. The door opened when I knocked. Then I… Well, it hurt that I had been blown off just so he could make out with someone, och then I realized everyone around me has someone to love, but I don’t.” He turns his head away and wipes at his eyes again. “I’ve never even kissed anyone. I’ve been alive for three och a half centuries, och I’ve never even kissed anyone! How pathetic is that?” He sniffs again, and starts walking. He feels England following him, but he can’t bring himself to tell him to go away.  
“It’s not pathetic at all. It’s better to kiss someone you have feelings for, even if it means waiting for centuries.” Alrik laughs bitterly.  
“Even the one I love would never kiss me. He’s too oblivious to recognize my feelings for him, och I’m too awkward to tell him. I’ll never get my first kiss. Och now my own family is too busy to even have a Fika with me. I’m going to fade into the background for everyone but Albert. Oh well! The love of my brother is more than enough.” His jaw trembles, and he makes a sharp turn. England stumbles a bit in his attempt to continue following him.  
“I’m not sure how much I can help with some of that, but I do not mind having a Fika with you. What Denmark did is not right. I will also promise you will not fade into the background for me. Seeing people hurting when I can do something to help bothers me. I will try my hardest to make you feel better.” The Swedish man twirls around and slams the door to the room he goes into. That’s not the response he was hoping for. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Will you at least have that Fika with me? We would both benefit from it. You would get what you came here for, albeit with a different person, and I would have something to do while I am waiting for Denmark.” He’s greeted with silence. He doesn’t want to do this, as he feels incredibly awkward talking about it, but… “I’ll tell you what they’re doing.” The door opens a bit, and the shorter man peeks his head out. He fixes his face in a pout. “You don’t have to give me that look. I promise I will tell you. You can trust me.” He holds his hand out for him to take.  
“Nej.” He pushes his hand away gently. “I don’t need your charity.” He shoves the door aside, and marches down the hallway. England shrugs, and follows after him. His feisty attitude is refreshing. And it’s cute how short he is. “Och don’t look at me like that! I can feel your gaze! Du think I’m cute because of my height! I am not!” The Brit chuckles softly. Sweden was right when he said he has a mood detector. It’s kind of scary. “Darn right I’m scary.”  
“Stop doing that. It’s unnerving.” He listens to the shorter man laugh, feeling fidgety.  
“Okay, I’ll stop. For now. Du have something to tell me och I wouldn’t want du to refrain from telling me because I’m freaking du out.”  
“Thank you, love. Even if your reasoning is a bit strange.” Alrik rolls his eyes, and starts setting a small table.  
“Du are getting Earl Grey tea. That’s all I have. But at least I’m not making du drink coffee, as much as I would like to.”  
“How very kind of you. Thank you.” He watches him place a plate full of cinnamon buns in the middle of the table. Where did those even come from? Maybe he baked them before going to see what Denmark was doing. He is surprised when Alrik sets a tea tray on the table as well, and pours two cups.  
“This isn’t to please du.” His cheeks are tinted pink in a blush. “This is because I don’t know where Mathias keeps his coffee and it would be an absolute tragedy not to have a hot beverage for a Fika. Especially when I made such perfect cinnamon buns!” The expression on his face says otherwise, but Arthur doesn’t say anything. It’s sweet of him to drink tea as well so he doesn’t feel left out.  
“They smell wonderful. And they look amazing.” Alrik smiles thankfully at him, and uses some tongs to place one on both of their plates. Where did those come from? It doesn’t matter, the man is being awfully kind to him, and he’s thankful for that. He watches him sit down, and stare expectantly. “Right. Denmark and Norway are currently having sex, Fika. That’s why it would have been bad if you stayed there watching them.” The Swedish man squeaks, and turns crimson all the way to his ears. He turns his head away with a huff.  
“Ja right. Why should I believe du? Och I have a name du know! It’s weird being called Fika. I know that’s what I personify, but even Germany and Prussia call me Alrik. Och we fight all the time.”  
“My apologies, Alrik. I was only trying to be polite. I am a gentleman, after all. But if you find it weird, I will stop. As for the belief thing; you are welcome to see for yourself, but do not blame me when you are scarred because of it.” He cuts off a small piece of the cinnamon bun and puts it in his mouth. “Mmm! This tastes excellent! You have a brilliant skill. It’s been a long time since I’ve had anything this tasty. Would you make these for me again sometime? Perhaps we can have a Fika every month or so. And I will pay you, if you would like.” One of Alrik’s eyebrows goes up. He looks skeptical.  
“What would du pay me with? I have plenty of money.”  
“Perhaps a favor? Or an action? As long as it is not too drastic.” The shorter man bounces excitedly in his seat.  
“Will du teach me how to kiss? Even if it’s just one kiss per Fika, that is much more than I am getting now. Oh, och just so du know, I haven’t forgotten about that sex thing. I will not risk traumatizing myself, but I will be looking for proof when they come out. Du are going to help me because du know more about it than I do.” England chuckles softly. So he’s not as oblivious as he seems to think.  
“Alright, I think I can help you look for signs. But why do you want me to teach you how to kiss?” Alrik scrunches up his nose in distaste.  
“I’ll only tell du after du answer.” The Brit stares at him, brows raised, but gives in after a minute of silence.  
“If it is something you want, then I will not deny it. I have enough experience to be able to help, even without actually kissing.”  
“Not what I meant, but we can talk about that later. Du are one of the nations I believe can take my sass and not be phased by it. Du can also deal it back, so I feel better being myself around du. Du are also rather attractive, och as du said, du have experience. It’s better to learn from someone who knows good och bad kissing to teach me as fast as possible. Though it might be useless, since Feli is so damn oblivious.”  
“First off, watch your language. Secondly, you love Italy?” Alrik stuffs half of his cinnamon bun in his mouth so he doesn’t have to reply. “Okay. I will drop that question for now. Thank you for the compliments. And I will not be kissing your lips, I still believe that is something you should save for someone you love. If you can deal with that, then I think we have an arrangement. We can have another Fika at any time.” The Swede nods frantically, and sips at his tea to swallow down the sweet pastry. His mouth is rather large for someone so small. Arthur yanks his mind straight out of the gutter before it can even touch it. That’s a bad place to let his mind go, especially about someone so innocent. He nibbles on his own pastry quietly, still fighting off the dirty thoughts. Thankfully, none stick long enough for him to comprehend. He lifts his cup to drink stiffly.  
“I’m surprised du didn’t have more to say about me finding du attractive.” England chokes a bit on his tea. Just how forward is he? He might not have a filter at all! It is rather intriguing.  
“You noticed that, did you? I must admit, I am not the best at receiving compliments, especially about my appearance. Truthfully, I prefer to ignore them. But since you brought it up again, thank you. You are rather lovely yourself.” He gets a relatively threatening fork pointed at him, and he shifts back a bit.  
“I wasn’t fishing for flattery.” He jabs the fork around in the air. “I just wanted to see du squirm. It didn’t work as well as I hoped och thought it would.” England reaches out and clasps the hand holding the fork in both of his hands.  
“Will you please stop waving that thing about? I’m scared for my poor eyes.” Alrik smirks.  
“Aww, is the little baby afraid I’m a cannibal? Gonna pluck out your eyes? Du wish I were!” He laughs, tilting his head back a bit. England’s eyes are drawn to his pale neck. His shirt must be too big for him, because one of his shoulders is slightly exposed. There’s freckles on it. He wonders if there’s more on his other shoulder. “Eyes up.” Alrik snaps his fingers near one of his ears. Thankfully the fork is gone. “I’m not a woman with a flat chest. I assure du, I am very much male. But I can show du proof, if du would like.” England’s face turns crimson in embarrassment.  
“I was not thinking that! I was inspecting your freckles. But I should not have stared. My deepest apologies.” He bows his head. He can feel eyes on him. He picks up his tea and drinks half of it before putting the cup back down. “What is it? Your gaze is also unnerving.”  
“I’m more than unnerving, sweetheart. I’m atrocious.” He grins cockily at him, and winks. He takes pleasure in the flush that travels down his neck. He starts to splutter, searching for something to say. Alrik cuts off a small bit of his cinnamon bun with his fork, stabs it, and waves it under England’s nose. “I see Mr. Gentleman is having a hard time responding to my mischief. How very cute of du.” He chuckles softly. “I could embarrass du even more by feeding du this, but I think you’ve had enough teasing for the day.” There’s the smallest hint of a challenge in his voice. Not one to back down, the Brit takes the treat gently with his teeth. “Hmm doesn’t count! Du made sure not to let your lips touch the metal, so it wasn’t uncomfortable enough for du. Try again.” He gathers another bit of the pastry, and holds it out again. “Eat it properly this time. Or are du too scared to?”  
“Of course I’m not.” He lets out a soft puff of air through his nose, then eats the food offered to him. The Swedish man sticks out his tongue at him. He grabs a bite for himself, and makes a show of eating it.  
“We just shared an indirect kiss. You’re doing plenty to teach me.” He smiles irritatingly, and sips at his tea. England’s eye twitches lightly, and he busies himself with finishing off what’s left of his own tea and cinnamon bun. He can’t help but think about Alrik’s words though. An indirect kiss? He’s never thought about one of those before. He’s definitely done it plenty of times, but he never thought it significant enough to consider. That’s how different they are. He’s so innocent. Someone could so easily taint that. He doesn’t want that to happen. He has to protect him, even if it means teaching him some things he probably shouldn’t. Because if he doesn’t, Alrik is naive enough to ask someone that will take advantage of him.  
“I will teach you direct kissing.” The Swedish man’s head snaps up, eyes filled with shock. “When is Denmark going to stop being so busy?” As if on cue, he walks into the room. “Ah! There you are!” He furrows his brows. Denmark’s clothes are disheveled, and his hair is messy. “You have an expected guest here. You blew him off to have sex with Norway!” Guilt crosses his expression. England glares at him, and drags him into another room to chew him out. Norway passes by them, confused.  
“Alrik!” Lukas laughs nervously, and pulls him into a tight hug. “I didn’t know you would be here today. Berwald should tell all of us about your visits, especially to Mathias. You know how forgetful he can be. We would make sure not to be here when it’s your day to come for a Fika.” Alrik’s bottom lip trembles, and tears start to spill out of his eyes. “What’s wrong?” His eyes widen and he scoops him up. “Shh, shh. It’s alright.” He brings his hand up to run his fingers through his hair, but Alrik jumps out of his arms and starts screaming.  
“Du two had sex! Och du are acting like nothing happened! My uncle doesn’t care enough about me to remember I’m coming for Fika because he wants to have sex with someone I thought I could trust! Don’t du touch me! I don’t want your filth rubbing off on me! Everyone around me is too in love to notice I exist anymore! I’ll only talk to Albert from here on out! At least he gives a shit about me when I’m not in front of him! Och maybe England, but he’s on thin ice.” He spins around and runs off.  
“Alrik!” Lukas runs after him, but it’s no use. He’s much faster. He sighs heavily, and rubs his temples. “England! Stop lecturing Mathias! We have to go after Alrik!” There’s a clatter in the next room, and Mathias stumbles into his arms. England glares daggers at the two of them.  
“It’s your fault he ran off to begin with. Is it really so hard to remember one day? You two could have had sex any other day! I had to pull him away from your door because you didn’t take time to latch it, or lock it, and you forgot he was supposed to be here! You don’t deserve to go after him. Stay here and have another round.” He snarls at the two of them. “If I learn either of you came after him when I specifically told you not to, I will not refrain from punishing you. You don’t want to find out how, do you?” They shake their heads quickly at him, and he nods. “Good. Now stay here while I go fix your stupid mistake!” He runs in the direction Norway was facing when he entered the room. It’s the direction he moved, so it has to be the way he went.  
He’s searching for roughly an hour when a small, quiet sound catches him off guard. He freezes so he can listen. Sniffling. He’s close. “Alrik?” He makes sure his voice is soft, and full of concern. The sniffling stops, and he sighs. “I know you’re nearby. I heard you. Norway and Denmark aren’t with me. I’m not going to let them near you so soon after hurting you like that. I just want to know you’re okay. Where are you?” The sniffling returns, and he tracks it down quickly. He sighs in relief when he walks around a tree and sees a figure curled up by a creek. “There you are.” He shuffles closer cautiously, afraid any sudden movements might make him run again. He sits down next to him, and places a hand on his back. “I was worried about you.”  
“C-can we do that f-first kissing lesson n-now? I’ll skip n-next time we have F-Fika, I j-just really n-need to feel l-loved right now.” His words break his heart. He brings his hand up to tangle his fingers in his hair.  
“I believe we can do that. But you don’t have to sacrifice your next lesson for it. You need it right now.” His body trembles, and he nods. Arthur feels like he’s been stabbed in the chest. That easy? He was so fiesty earlier, and now he’s so agreeable. He hugs the man tightly, and kisses his hair.  
“Not there. Please.” His voice is so broken. It’s lacking all of the happiness and joking from an hour ago.  
“Alright, love.” He puts as much compassion into his voice as he can. It’s sickly sweet, and sticks to his own ears like honey, but it seems to soothe Alrik. “Can you look at me?” Another nod, and a slow head turn. “No one can see your eyes with your hair in them like that.” He brushes the strands aside, and gives him a genuine smile. “There we are. Now you can see.” He notices the tears streaks down his face. “Oh, let me get those.” He gently wipes at his cheeks. The Swedish man doesn’t move, and his stare is blank. There’s so much pain in his eyes. He hopes his kiss is enough to help, even the slightest bit. “Can you close your eyes for me, love? It is a bit embarrassing to kiss when we can see each other.”  
“Ja.” He closes his eyes obediently. Arthur cups his cheeks, and presses their lips together sweetly. He closes his eyes once he’s sure he hasn’t missed. A hand tangles in his hair, and Alrik’s lips move against his. He tugs, and Arthur gasps, giving him the opportunity to shove his tongue into his mouth. He crawls closer, until he’s practically on top of him. He falls back onto the ground, unable to hold himself up anymore. First kiss his ass! He can feel him exploring, and he can’t do anything but kiss back. Though he doesn’t really want to do anything besides that. Oh. Okay. Now he’s kneading at his chest, and sucking on his lip. His brain clouds over, and he shoves away the lust threatening to overtake his mind. Alrik pulls away, sucking on his tongue until he’s too far away to. They both pant softly. Once Arthur’s caught his breath, he speaks.  
“Are you certain that was your first kiss?” Alrik laughs softly.  
“I am. I might have picked up a few things through reading.” He smiles at him, then laughs. Arthur finds it curious he didn’t mention television. Well, Sweden only has one for company, so maybe he took up that habit as well.  
“I’m glad to see you are feeling better.”  
“Mmm! Tack! Sorry du had to see me so upset though. I try not to hold back my emotions, because I know it can hurt people. I’ve seen how harmful hiding feelings can be. I don’t ever want to do that. But sometimes I think I’m too open with them, so I run och hide myself.”  
“It’s very brave of you to not avoid them. I think it’s admirable.” He tucks a bit of Alrik’s hair behind his ear. He watches the blush spread over his cheeks. He really is attractive. “You shouldn’t have to hide your emotions. No one should.” He kisses him again. He makes a soft noise of surprise, then melts into the kiss. Arthur has control this time, but he just moves his mouth, not wanting to get so close to naughty thoughts again. He smiles at the Swede when he pulls away. “You’re beautiful.”  
“I-I’m n-not.” He scrambles to his feet, and runs as fast as he can toward the house, tripping every few steps. He hears the Brit calling after him, but he can’t bring himself to stop or slow down. He’s not beautiful! He doesn’t deserve to be called that! He’s the least attractive person in his family. He darts around the front of the house, and sits near the door. He calls Berwald and begs for him to come back to pick him up. After being reassured he’ll be there as soon as possible, he hangs up his phone and curls himself into a ball. England thinks he’s beautiful? He’s definitely not.Then why does his heart feel so light thinking about it? He’ll think about it later. For now, he closes his eyes tightly, and lets himself cry.

Arthur sprints around the side of the house, and sighs in relief when he sees Alrik. “There you are! I got worried when Norway and Denmark told me you hadn’t come back inside yet. Thank goodness you’re safe.” He steps closer to the man, and frowns when he doesn’t respond. “Alrik?” He walks over to him, and furrows his brows when he realizes he’s asleep. His head is leaning against the house, and his hair is covering his eyes. He pushes it behind his ear, and sighs when he sees the tear tracks down his face. “I’m sorry for making you cry.” He sits next to him, and he notices that his shirt is falling off his right shoulder. He places it back on his shoulder, and notices a scar on his forearm, just below the bend in his elbow. “What’s this?”  
“It’s fr’m one ‘f the c’ffee bans in Sw’den.” Arthur’s head snaps up, and he smiles politely, despite his heart hammering from the adrenaline.  
“Sweden. I didn’t hear you come up.” He looks back at the scar on his arm. “It doesn’t hurt him, does it?” He runs his fingers over the skin.  
“Nej. J’st don’t pr’ss d’wn h’rd.” The Brit nods softly.  
“Right.” He pulls his hand away. “I’m sorry for making him upset. Please, take care of him. And maybe pay attention to him more. He doesn’t feel loved enough.” He stands, and dusts himself off. “Well, I should go speak with Denmark about what I originally came here for.” He makes his way inside quickly, not wanting to be questioned. He watches Sweden pick up Alrik and take him back to his vehicle.  
“I’m assuming you want to know more about the scars?” Arthur jumps, and turns his head around to glare at Norway.  
“Your family needs to stop sneaking up on me!” He places his hand over his heart. “You’re going to give me a heart attack.” Norway chuckles.  
“My apologies. I saw your interaction with Berwald. I thought you might want to know more. I was there when one of them formed.”  
“You were there?” He has to hide his smile. “Could you tell me about it? I want to know more about him, but I don’t want to upset him again.”  
“He was likely already upset because of the sex thing. You wouldn’t happen to know how he learned that word, would you?” Arthur laughs nervously. “It’s alright. We should have already taught him about it. I’m a bit surprised he hasn’t figured it out yet through reading though. Berwald must monitor what he reads.” He shakes his head slightly. “He’s a bit of a hover parent. He means well though.” He takes a deep breath. “But that’s not what you wanted to talk about. Alrik has five scars on his body from the coffee bans. The first was from the coffee paraphernalia ban, and it’s his largest scar. The second-”  
“What about the one on his arm? It’s awfully long.” Norway’s expression saddens.  
“That’s his shortest scar.”  
“His shortest?”  
“I know it’s not what you want to hear. Each ban was a period of pain for him. The scar length is based on how long the ban was. You saw his shortest. It’s up to him if he wants to show you the rest. And up to you if you want to get close enough to him for him to want to show you them.” He gives him a knowing look. Arthur blushes, but tries not to let it get to him. “I suppose their length and location aren’t that important though. What you’ll want to know is that his necklace is special.”  
“His necklace? Do you mean the ring?”  
“Ja. I gave it to him after his last scar formed. It symbolizes hope that there won’t be another coffee ban. It seems to have worked so far. But that’s not all it stands for.” Arthur tilts his head slightly in question. “I gave him a condition though. When he finds someone to love, he should give it to them. It would continue to be a symbol of hope that way. But he put it on a ribbon, tied it around his neck, and claimed whoever shall take it would be his love. He doesn’t want the one he loves to be boring, so he figured it would stop him from making any mistakes by loving a dull person. Only his family knows, and now you. He wants to tell whoever he comes to love about it to see if they will take it, but I’m not too sure Italy will care. I think someone else might though.”  
“And you think I’m that someone else?”  
“He may be energetic and trusting, but he’s not one to have a Fika with someone he doesn’t care about. The tradition means a lot to him, so the fact that he even let you join in is curious. But he gave you a cinnamon bun. Those are his pride and joy. And he drank tea for you. Whether he wants to admit it or not, he likes you as a person. A lot.” Arthur can’t help but smile.  
“I thought he didn’t like me. So it’s reassuring to hear that.” He turns his head away and fakes scratching his nose to hide his grin. Maybe those kisses meant something to more than just him.

Arthur opens his door, and smiles down at Alrik. “Hello, love. Please, come in.” He steps aside, and watches him step inside. The Swede bites his bottom lip nervously. It’s cute. He hopes his idea is the right thing to do. “I made you coffee. You’ll have to forgive me if it’s not as good as you’re used to. I tried my best.”  
“Oh. Tack.” He giggles. “Du didn’t have to do that.” He tucks a strand of hair behind his ear shyly. The Brit notices he’s wearing makeup. Blue eyeshadow to match his shirt, which is long sleeves. His cheeks and nose are glittery, and he’s wearing mascara.  
“You look lovely today.” He gently grabs Alrik’s hand, and leads him to the table he has set. “Let me take your bag. Thank you for agreeing to stay for a few days.”  
“It is rather far away from home. Och it would be rude of me to say nej when du were so sweet about asking.” He blushes slightly, and hands Arthur his bag. “Tack for taking it.” He bites his bottom lip again. The Brit notices his lips are glossy, and pinker than usual. He’s so darn adorable. “Och tack for the compliment. Du look handsome t-” He looks up at him, and his cheeks tint pink. “As always. Du always look handsome.” He turns his head away. Arthur takes the opportunity to reach out and grab his necklace gently, but he doesn’t pull yet.  
“Thank you. You’re always lovely as well.” He tugs solidly on the ring, and is filled with relief when the knot comes loose. Alrik gasps, and jerks his head around to gape at him. “I know what the ring is. Norway told me. I know we don’t know each other too well, but I want to learn about you.” The Swede furrows his brows, and brings his hand up to his throat. He frowns deeply.  
“Why would du take it if du know what it means to me?” His bottom lip trembles, and his expression shifts into a pout. He looks like he’s about to burst into tears.  
“Wait, Alrik. This is a good thing. Please don’t cry.” Arthur hugs him tightly. “I care about you. The kiss we shared meant something to me. I didn’t realize until I spoke to Norway, but it did.” He releases him cautiously. The Swede bites his bottom lip again. He scrunches up his nose, but there’s a spark in his eyes. Even so, it’s unnerving, until he laughs.  
“I suppose it meant something to me too. I wasn’t thinking about Feli while we were kissing. Och I truly did feel loved in that moment. Och it was fun to be on top of a former pirate.” He giggles, and sticks his tongue out at him. He revels in the blush he arises in the Brit. “Mr. scary pirate whom I might have feelings for.” He reaches up, and wraps his arms around his neck.  
“Does this mean you want to try as well?” Alrik rolls his eyes.  
“Ja. Now kiss me, before I kiss du.” Arthur doesn’t have to be told twice. He leans down and presses their lips together fondly.

“Alrik! Come to bed!” The Swede walks out of the bathroom, and twirls around shyly. Arthur turns crimson. He’s wearing a cream coloured nightgown that stops mid thigh, and has short sleeves. He stares in awe at him. “You are-”  
“I’m showing du my scars.” The Brit’s heart leaps into his throat. He’s never even worn short sleeves around him before, and now he wants him to see his scars? It’s wonderful.  
“Thank you. I know you’re not always confident in yourself, so it means a lot to me that you would wear this for me. Or show me your scars. Doing them both together… Thank you.” He pulls him in for a deep kiss.  
“Mmm. As nice as your kisses are, I want to get this over with before I lose my nerve.”  
“Of course, love.” Alrik pecks his lips, then grabs his hand gently. He places it on his left thigh shyly.  
“This is the fourth scar I received. Du can find it and rub it to soothe me. I’ll only allow du to do it. But it will work.” He blushes. He moves Arthur’s hand to the scar on his forearm. “Lukas already told du, but this is my shortest scar. It’s my third. The others are on my torso. I wanted to wear shorts, but I trust du not to gawk.” He tugs the gown up, and places Arthur’s hand on his left side. “This is my second. My fifth one is here,” He moves his hand to his lower back. “Och my first…” He clenches his jaw and presses the hand to his chest. “Is right here.”  
“This is the one that pains you the most, isn’t it?” A small nod.  
“I didn’t know what was coming. It hurt so much, och for so long. Berwald is the only reason I smiled during that time. From then on, I only trusted him during the coffee bans. That changes today though. If there is ever another coffee ban, will du take care of me?” His eyes shimmer with pain. The Brit hugs him earnestly.  
“Of course, love. You’re very important to me. It’s an honour that you would even consider me. Thank you.” He kisses him again. After a moment, he pulls away. “You should put your nightgown on properly again before I do something naughty.” Alrik giggles.  
“I wouldn’t mind if du be naughty.” He smiles brightly at him. “But I think this is more important than that.” He takes his hand, and slips something onto his left ring finger.  
“You resized the ring.” Arthur stares at his hand, and smiles.  
“Mmmhmm! I did! I thought it was time to give it to du. Jag älskar dig.” He nuzzles him.  
“It’s wonderful. Thank you.” He kisses the tip of his nose. “I love you too. And as much as I want to get a bit frisky tonight, we really should rest. I know how important tomorrow is for you. I promise to be on my best behaviour. I can’t wait to spend the day with the one I love and his brother.” He lays down, and pulls Alrik into his arms. He cuddles into him, and sighs in content.  
“God natt. Sleep well.” He closes his eyes, and quickly falls asleep. Arthur stares at him lovingly. He’s so glad he took that chance. He’ll never stop loving him for as long as they exist.


	8. Albert x Germany

Albert sighs heavily when he sees his brother stand. He has his sights set on Germany, as always. The only difference is Prussia isn’t there to distract him today. Which means that duty falls on him. He pushes himself up out of his chair, and steps in front of Alrik. “Rikky. Don’t. Please. We don’t know how he’ll react without his brother here.” The shorter man rolls his eyes, and walks past him. Why does he hate him so much anyway?  
“Hej.” Alrik narrows his eyes at Germany, and growls in the back of his throat. Albert steps between them, with his back turned toward him. Great. So he’s going to try and consol his enemy. This could be interesting. He brings his hand up to toy with his necklace a bit while he watches it play out.  
“My apologies for him. Please, du have to forgive him. He’s a bit… reckless. Sometimes he doesn’t think through what he’s doing. We all have those m-” Ludwig holds up his hand, holding back a smile.  
“Ich understand vhat jou are trying to say. Don’t fluster jourself.” The blonde nods, and bows his head quickly.  
“Tack.” His voice is quiet. It always is, he supposes. But it seems even softer today. “Is there anything I can do to make it up to du?” It’s so harmonic. That gives him an idea.  
“Vould jou sing for me? Jour voice is lovely.” He watches his face turn crimson. His older brother huffs, and shoves him out of the way.  
“Du dirty bastard! Nej! I won’t let du listen to him sing! I won’t even let du hear his voice ever again! Stay away from him!” Ludwig’s eyes widen. He wasn’t expecting that reaction.  
“Rikky, it’s o-”  
“Nej! Don’t talk! He’ll get off from it! Du sick-” Albert hugs his brother tightly from behind, effectively silencing him. He sighs again, and starts walking backwards. He whispers in his ear when he’s sure they’re out of earshot from Germany.  
“Let’s go outside.” He releases him slowly, then he follows him outside. “See? It’s that easy, Rikky. Du only need to walk out when he gets under your skin.”  
“I don’t want du around him ever again.”  
“Don’t du think you’re being a bit unfair? He just wants to hear me sing. It’s…” He shakes his head.  
“What?” It’s what?”  
“Nothing. What I was going to say is silly.” It’s not, but Alrik doesn’t have to know that. “I’m going on a walk with Katyusha. I need to clear my head. Och I’m sorry, but du can’t come this time. Du distract me too much. It’s good when I want to be distracted, but not today. I’m sorry.” The shorter man shrugs.  
“It’s alright. I know I can be a bit much sometimes. I think I’ll go bother Uncle Den with a prank or ten.” He giggles, then kisses his brother’s cheek. “Jag älskar dig!” He turns and runs off. He’s out of sight within a minute. He has entirely too much energy, to be as old as he is. It must be all the coffee and sugar. Albert takes a deep breath, and makes his way back to Germany. He hates lying to Alrik, but it’s his only choice at the moment. And he’ll go on that walk with her before allowing himself to go back home anyway.  
“I am so sorry about that. I got rid of him though.” He looks down at his shoes anxiously. “I didn’t answer your question yet.” He tugs his gloves up a bit. “I wouldn’t mind singing for du. Och tack for the compliment. You’re the first person to say something positive about my voice. T-tack.” He glances up at him shyly. He’s really not that much taller than him, but he’s still incredibly intimidating.  
“Ah. Jou are velcome. Zough Ich find it hard to believe jou haven’t been complimented on it before. It’s so soothing.” There he goes, blushing again. He must get embarrassed easily. Perhaps even more than Ludwig himself. It’s cute that he struggles to hide it.  
“Tack så mycket!” Even energetic, he’s still quiet as a mouse. It’s such a stark contrast from both of their brothers. It must be hard for him to be heard at home. Ludwig’s heart pangs. From his own experience, that usually means being touch starved. He knows Albert wears all those clothes to keep others from touching him, so he must be twice as touch starved as he ever was.  
“Jou are very velcome.” He gives him as warm a smile as he can muster. “Don’t jou ever overheat in all zose clothes?” He steps closer cautiously. The Swedish man stiffens, and looks ready to bolt.  
“I would rather overheat than contaminate anyone.”  
“Contaminate?” A shaky nod. “Vith vhat?” Silence. “Stockholm Syndrome?” Another nod. “Zat’s ridiculous!” His nose twitches angrily. Ludwig takes a big step back, and puts up his hands slowly. “I didn’t mean to offend jou.” He’s never seen even a smidge of anger in the man, so just that small bit is terrifying. He’s heard rumors he just explodes when he’s had enough. “Alright. So jou believe jou can contaminate people vith vhat jou personify. Zat’s unfortunate. I’m sorry. Ich know Ich had nozing to do vith it, but it is still sad to hear. If it makes jou feel any better, Ich am very resistant to any sort of contamination.”  
“I would rather sing for du than keep talking about this.”  
“Of course. Vhen du are ready. I’m sure it vill be beautiful.” Albert shakes his head slightly. “Nein? Jou don’t zink jou can sing vell?”  
“It’s not that. I’ve never sung anywhere but at Brakkåfallet. But I don’t have to go there today. It’s silly to have to be in one place to be able to do something.”  
“Nein, it’s not silly. I’ll take jou.”  
“Du don’t have to do that! I’m fine here, I promise.” Ludwig shakes his head.  
“It makes jou more comfortable. Und I’ve been vanting to see some of Sweden’s nature anyvay. Zis vill make for a gut opportunity.” He gives him a soft smile. He nods hesitantly, then smiles back. It’s a small smile, but it’s there. He passes by Albert, and makes sure he’s following. He unlocks his vehicle, and opens the passenger side door for him.  
“Tack,” he whispers as he hops in. He watches Germany close the door, and jog over to the driver’s side. He hurries to put the seatbelt on and stares out the window, feeling awkward. “It’s not too far from here.” He points in a direction to get them started. Once the vehicle starts moving, he closes his eyes and presses his forehead against the glass. It feels nice. It’s helping to ground him. But he can’t sit still for very long. He looks down at his lap, and picks at a loose thread on his pants. When the next turn comes, he lifts up his head and arm to direct him. His stomach flips, and he kicks at the side of his leg to distract himself.  
“Jou seem nervous. My apologies if I am unsettling jou.” Albert shakes his head quickly.  
“I’m alright. I don’t know du very well, so I am a bit nervous, but I know du would never hurt anyone. Not on purpose, anyway. So I trust du.”  
“Danke.” Ludwig looks over at him for just a second, then looks back at the road. He’s hugging his knees to his chest, and staring out the front windshield. His demeanor is lonely and afraid. Is he always like this? He’s never noticed until now, but he’s never been alone with him either. It makes his heart hurt. He’s felt like that before. He wants to make him feel better. Show him that he’s not as alone as he thinks. Gilbert helped him with that, but it doesn’t seem like Alrik wants to help his brother. Or maybe he can’t. Albert seems to get more attention from his family. But it’s clear he doesn’t want to be noticed. Whereas Alrik seems to be trying for attention, but not getting the right type. That might be why he lashes out at him. He makes a mental note to actually converse with him next time that happens.  
“Turn off here,” he points at the road to Brakkåfallet, and smiles to himself. It’s been awhile since he’s been here. He forgot how peaceful it is. The moment the vehicle stops, he practically launches himself outside. He’s suddenly excited to sing for Germany. He bounces on the balls of his feet impatiently, and runs ahead of him a bit.  
“Someone’s happy,” he chuckles. It’s cute. He had no idea he had this much energy in him. He walks after him silently. He nearly bumps into him when he suddenly stops. Oh. They’re by a lovely fall and a pool of water. “It’s beautiful.”  
“Ja, it is. This is my favourite place in all of Sweden.” Albert closes his eyes and inhales deeply. “It snowed a few days ago. I love the melt. It raises the water level, och most of the time it stays clear.” He kneels, tugs off a glove, and dips his hand into the water. Ludwig cringes a bit. That water must be cold. How can he touch it so easily? The wind picks up, and lifts a few strands of the Swedish man’s hair. He’s captivating to look at, when he’s this relaxed. Without all of that nervousness hindering him, his true charm shines through. And it’s stunning. He quickly forces himself to stop thinking like that.  
“Ich can see vhy jou love it here.”  
“Ah! I should sing for du.” He stands back up, and brushes his shirt off subconsciously. “Alrik sings this to me when I’m feeling overwhelmed. It helps a lot.” He closes his eyes, and starts singing.  
Ludwig is absolutely blown away. His voice is captivating, and he doesn’t even mind that he can’t understand what is being sung. It’s definitely in a Nordic language, but he doesn’t care which right now. He closes his eyes as he listens. “That was Vargsången, or Wolf Song.” The English jerks him out of the peaceful place he had imagined.  
“It’s beautiful.” Albert nods softly, and quietly removes his scarf.  
“Tack. It is a lovely song.” He bows his head shyly.  
“Nein, Ich meant jour voice.” He eyes the scarf cautiously. “Vhy did jou take zat off?”  
“Oh! I trust du enough not to touch me there by accident.” He removes his gloves as well. “Nej need for these either.” He takes a deep breath. “It’s hard to take these off. They’re my safety. They reassure me nej one can be contaminated by touching me. But I don’t like singing with them on.” He places them on a rock a bit away from the water, then goes back to singing without another word. Ludwig wants to say something, but he can’t find it in himself to interrupt him. He looks too happy and peaceful.  
“Jou’re perfect,” he whispers, more to himself than anything. He listens to him sing song after song, until dusk falls. “Albert. Ze sun ist going down. Ve should leave soon.” Vibrant blue eyes open, and he frowns.  
“When did it get so dark? It felt like I was singing for a few minutes.” He shakes his head. “We should go now. I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time.” He hurries to scoop up his scarf and gloves, and hugs them to his chest tightly.  
“Nein. Jou didn’t take up any more time zan Ich vanted jou to. Ich loved listening to jou sing. It vas vonderful.” Albert blushes, and pulls on one of his curls. Ludwig can’t help but wonder what those stand for. Maybe he’ll do research later.  
“Tack. That means a lot to me. Really. I don’t sing for others very often. I’m a bit shy.” He watches Germany stumble, and laughs softly. “I’m guessing du noticed.” A nod. “I’m glad du wanted to listen. I know du couldn’t really understand what I was saying, but it was nice knowing someone was there just to be there.”  
“I’m glad my presence vas reassuring. Zat’s gut. Danke for letting me be here for jou.” It’s Albert’s turn to stumble, but a rock catches his shoe and he falls forward. He lands hard on his knees and inner forearms, and his glasses fly off his face.  
“Ouch.” Ludwig’s eyes widen, and he hurries to help him up. Before he can ask if he’s alright, he notices his bottom lip is trembling and bleeding. “G-glasses. My glasses! I can’t see without them!”  
“Here!” The German rushes to grab them, cleans them as fast as he can on his shirt, and places them on the other man’s face. “Jou’re bleeding. Jou must be hurting. Let me carry jou back to the vehicle. Zen ve are going to mein hotel room, und Ich am cleaning jou up. It’s not too far from here.” Albert nods, and buries his face in Germany’s chest. He’s hurting too much to worry about tainting him. He doesn’t move when he’s picked up, despite the stab of pain it causes. He stares at the darkening sky as Germany runs with him. He’s fast. Well, he does work out quite a bit. He gets put in the vehicle carefully.  
“I can buckle myself.”  
“Not as fast as Ich can.” He snaps the buckle over him, closes the door, and hurries to the driver’s seat. He takes off as fast as he can. They’re parked and inside a room in less than half the time Albert knows it should take to just get there. “Jou’re bleeding zrough jour clothes as vell. Jou scraped jourself up pretty bad. Let me find jou somezing else to vear. Somezing out of ze vay.” He places him on the bathroom counter, and hurries to dig through his clothes. He finds some shorts and a short sleeved shirt quickly, and gives them to his guest. “Here. Change into zese.” He goes back to his suitcase, and pulls out a first aid kit. Thank goodness for always being prepared. He knocks on the door lightly. “Are jou dressed?”  
“J-ja.” The door opens slowly. “Sorry to be such a bother.”  
“Nein. Jou are nein bozer at all. Here, let me clean jou up. Jour lip first.” He washes his hands, then dabs at Albert’s lip with an alcohol wipe. He flinches back, and he can’t tell if it’s from pain or worry he’ll contaminate him. “Shh. Ich know. It hurts. Don’t lick jour lips. Zat could be bad for jou. I’ll clean it off later. Zere are more pressing matters right now.” He moves down to his arms. Those look horrible. They’re still bleeding heavily. He’s going to need more wipes. He starts rubbing at one arm gently, and tries to ignore the whine. He wraps it gently once it’s clean. Well, as clean as he can get it while it’s still bleeding. He opens a new wipe for his other arm, but finds it harder to ignore his whimpering. “Shh. Bitte. Ich am not trying to hurt jou. Jou know zat. Ich know it hurts. I’m trying to help jou.”  
“I-I know. But it hurts. A-a lot.”  
“It hurts because it’s already infected. Jou have to let me do zis so jou can get better faster.” A hesitant nod. “Danke.” He goes back to cleaning, and wraps that arm up as well. He opens another to move on to his knees. They aren’t as bad, but they’re still awfully scuffed up. He cleans them both with one wipe, thankfully. He wraps those as well. “Zere.” He tosses the trash, then wets a washcloth with warm water. He wipes at Albert’s lip with it, removing any alcohol left from the wipe. He examines the skin closely, making sure he’s not still bleeding. Once he’s sure he’s not, he pulls away from him, albeit reluctantly. It’s nice seeing him not covering every bit of skin he can. And he never noticed how pretty he was until today. Especially his eyes. They’re such a lovely shade of blue. He clears his throat, mostly to distract himself, and starts speaking. “Jou are staying here tonight. Ich vill inform Sveden vhere jou are. Ich can see jou are struggling to stay avake. Go to ze bed.”  
“Nej. It’s your bed. Du sleep in it.”  
“Zis ist not up for debate. Jou are staying in ze bed tonight. Ich vill be fine on ze floor. It vill keep me alert. Ich need to check in on jou anyvay.” The Swedish man sticks his bottom lip out in a pout. It’s a bit swollen from the rubbing, so Ludwig is hit with an extra wave of guilt. But he stands his ground. “Don’t give me zat look.”  
“Then don’t make me give it to du. I’m only doing it because you’re being selfless.” He crosses his arms over his chest.  
“Alright. Ve can speak more on zis in a moment. Right now, Ich need to call Sveden. I’m sure he’s vorried sick about jou.” He pulls out his cell phone, and finds the contact. He presses the call button, and nearly immediately gets an answer.  
“Germ’ny? Wh’t is it?”  
“Sveden. Ich am vith Stockholm Syndrome.” He watches Albert visibly cringe. His chest tightens in guilt again. He’s never going to trust him again after that, is he? It’s a mistake he wants to take back right now, but he knows he can’t.  
“Albert? Wh’t are du doing w’th him?” But maybe he can make it better.  
“Ja, Albert. He’s injured. Don’t vorry, Ich patched him up. Ich vill vatch him closely all night, but he’s tired. Ich zink it ist best if he stays vith me tonight. I’ll send jou ze address und name of ze hotel.”  
“Do n’t try anyth’ng w’th him. He’s sk’ttish. If Jag learn du f’rced him t’ do anyth’ng he didn’t w’nt to do, Jag w’ll sk’n du al’ve. G’t it?” Ludwig shudders at the thought.  
“Ja. Got it. Danke for letting him stay.” He hangs up the call before he can get threatened again, and sends the information quickly.  
“He said he would skin du alive if du do something to me, didn’t he?”  
“How did jou-?”  
“He always does. Even when I’m with Lukas or Tino. He’s protective of me. Och he knows I don’t like people touching me. But du…”  
“Bitte, don’t. Ich know vhat Ich said vas vrong. Ich don’t see jou as zat. Ich vas being formal, but it hurt du. Zat’s somezing Ich can never be forgiven for, or live down.”  
“Are du kidding me? Du knew I’m afraid of giving someone Stockholm Syndrome through touching me, but you carried me to your vehicle, to your room, och du patched me up. Not one time did du falter. Ja it hurt hearing du call me that, but only because…” His voice catches in his throat, and tears fill his eyes. “Because du are the first person to ever make me feel like I’m not this thing to be feared. That I’m not a monster. I know most of that is my own doing, but du made it go away. I wasn’t thinking those things when I was watching du care about my well being. Du sure as hell weren’t. I tell others to stay away, och the moment I tell them why they listen. Du didn’t! That has to mean something.” He closes his eyes tightly, letting the tears fall. “Even France, the country of love, has backed away from me in fear a few times. Du never have. Och now you’ve made me feel human. You’re right. Du can never be forgiven for that. But du can never be thanked enough for that either.” He lets out a quiet sob, and covers his face. Ludwig stares at him in shocked silence. Then, he hugs him as tightly as he can manage.  
“Jou are not a monster. Jou never vere, und jou vill never be ein. Jou shouldn’t zink of jourself like zat. From vhat I’ve seen of jou before today, jou vere zis mysterious person nein one knew much about, besides jour belief on love. After today? Jou deserve more love zan anyone is capable of giving. Und patience. Jou don’t have ze best views about jourself, und zat’s fine. Jou need someone villing to stick by jour side until jou are comfortable being vho jou are, personification und all. Und anyone vould be lucky to say zey love jou. Jour family already takes pride in it. Vhy can’t jou see zat? Zey are all so proud of jou. Sveden threatened var vith me just because Ich told him jou vere vith me. He’s known for his neutral state. He vas villing to give zat up because of jou. Jou may not vant to be loved, but jou are. So very much. Ich hope jou can find it in jourself to one day let someone in romantically.”  
“W-will du wait for me?” Ludwig pulls away from him gently, and wipes at his tears.  
“Vhat vas zat?”  
“Will du wait for me to be ready for that? Let someone in romantically, I mean. I think I want it to be du. When I’m ready, of course. Och only if du want to. I don’t expect du to wait. That would be selfish of me. But if du did want to wait, there’s nej telling when I’ll be ready. So if du decide I’m taking too long, feel free to mo-”  
“Can Ich kiss jou?”  
“Excuse me?” He furrows his brows at him. “What did du say?”  
“Vell, if jou choose me, it von’t hurt anyzing, vill it? Ze only zing zat zis might do ist make it easier to decide for both of us.” Albert licks his lips, then nods softly.  
“Okej. That could be nice. Och you’re right. If we like kissing, och we’re both fine with it, I don’t see why it can’t happen more often. I-if we want to!” He bows his head quickly. “If du want to. I’ve never kissed anyone on the lips before. I’m probably ruining my chances more och more with each word I say. Just kiss me before I make even more of a fool of-” Ludwig doesn’t have to be told twice. He cups Albert’s cheek and kisses him. It’s soft, and gentle, and oh he could get used to this. The Swede smells good. Like peppermint and snow. Does snow have a smell? It must. It always smells the same when it snows. Now he’ll be reminded of Albert when it snows. He likes that. A lot. He’s such a sweet man.  
“Ich vill vait for jou. Alvays.” He whispers into the kiss. “Und Ich vould like to do zis more. Ve don’t have to label it. Not until jou are ready.” He kisses his cheek, then straightens out his back. He smiles sweetly at him. “Danke for asking me to vait for jou.”  
“Tack for being willing to wait.” He pushes himself off the counter. “Och tack for the kiss. It was nice. Better than anything else I’ve done. It could be nice to do that pretty regularly. I’ll try to label it as soon as I can. But I promise I won’t push myself to do anything I’m not comfortable with. I’ll also ask du before saying anything about it to anyone. Mind if I steal another kiss?”  
“Only if ve can stay in ze same bed tonight.” Ludwig smirks mischievously. It’s a good way to get him comfortable with being close to others. Hopefully he trusts him, so that trust can go a long way in helping him.  
“Alright. That sounds reasonable. I’m not afraid of being around du anymore.” He pulls him in for another kiss. He runs a hand through the German’s hair. The gel gives out a bit, and he keeps toying with it until it falls around his face loosely. He laughs a bit when he looks at him. That might be his first laugh around someone other than family. It feels nice. “There! That looks a lot better. Du should start wearing it like this. At least when we’re alone.”  
“Alone, jou say? Zere’s going to be more zan just tonight? Ich like ze sound of zat.” He scoops him up, and kisses him hard on the lips. He carries him to the bed and places him on it gently. “Let me change into somezing else before ve sleep.” He grabs some clothes, and hurries to change in the bathroom. Once he’s dressed, he slips into the room. He smiles at Albert, who’s positioned himself under the blankets and is looking at him like a lost puppy. It’s adorable. “Jou are too cute.” The Swede covers his mouth and nose with the sheets and giggles.  
“Tack! Now come here. Alrik isn’t the only one that likes cuddles.” Ludwig crawls into bed with him, but makes sure they’re not touching. “Ah. I see. Du don’t want to hurt me. Just be careful. Du only wrapped my arms och knees.”  
“Ich vasn’t vorried about zat. Jou aren’t vorried jou might contaminate me anymore?” He shakes his head quickly, and nuzzles his nose into the crook of his neck.  
“Nej. Du haven’t cared about that all night. I’m not sure du ever did. But that’s not what matters. What matters is that I don’t think I can pass it on to du now. Och even if I can, du said you’re very resistant to it.” He kisses his nose. “I think I might be falling for du. I’m glad it’s du. You’re amazing. Och I’m sure we both have our fears. Your past… I won’t talk about it, but I know it must hurt du. Just like mine hurts me. We can help each other, in whatever way we can.” He cuddles into his chest. “We shouldn’t talk about this tonight though. We have the future for that. We have when I’m more confident in myself och I know exactly what I want us to be for that. If du want to be what I want us to be as well, of course.”  
“Don’t be so unsure of jourself. Ich vill accept anyzing jou decide on. Even if it means nein us. But jou’re right, ve shouldn’t vorry about zat right now. Ich vant to give jou zose cuddles jou vant.” He wraps his arms around him and pulls him close. “Zis ist nice.”  
“Shh. Sleep. Du are warm och my body hurts. Which means I’m tired because I need to heal. But it is rather nice.” He cuddles into him with a sigh of content. Soon enough, they both fall asleep, happy to be with each other.

“Ludwig!” Albert runs to him, and hugs him tightly. The German’s eyes widen in surprise, but he hugs him back.  
“To vhat do Ich owe ze pleasure of jou openly touching me? In public, might Ich remind jou.” He glances around nervously at all the countries staring at them. A meeting has just let out, and not many have left yet.  
“I choose du. Jag älskar dig, Ludwig. I’ve finally come to terms with how I feel. I’m sorry for making du wait so long.” He kisses him deeply. They ignore the reactions from everyone around them. What matters in that moment is their love for each other.  
“Ich liebe dich auch. So zis ist how jou vant to publicize us?” Albert nods softly, then kisses him again. He knows Hungary is probably taking a million pictures, but he can’t find it in himself to care. When they part, he chuckles softly. “Jou didn’t make me vait zat long. Vhat’s a few months to us?”  
“I made du wait nearly a year, Ludwig. I’m sorry for that. I was pretty sure how I felt when I asked du to wait for me. I shouldn’t have taken this long.”  
“Hey. Nein.” He laces a hand in Albert’s hair. “Jou veren’t ready. Ich told jou Ich vould vait, und zat’s exactly vhat Ich did. Don’t feel bad for taking jour time. Zis ist new for jou. It’s new for both of us.” He takes his hand and squeezes it. “But Ich know ve can do zis. Togezer.” The Swede smiles, and kisses him again. He’s got a feeling their relationship will be full of those, and he has nothing to complain about there. “Ich couldn’t be happier. Danke.”  
“I should be thanking du. Du have done so much for me. Du even made me change my opinion on love. Och now we get to be the cute couple everyone wants to stop being so affectionate, but we won’t care because we have each other, nej matter what.”  
“Ich vouldn’t have it any ozer vay, Blume.”


End file.
